My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Matthew 27:46 KJV

With all the talk of Mel Gibson’s, “The Passion of Christ,” I didn’t feel the least compelled to rush out and see this show. I find it extremely uncomfortable to sit in a theatre through an entire filming. I would wait for the video and watch it in comfort, on my couch. But when Jack and I went to our camp this past weekend, we noticed that the show was playing at the Greenbrier Theatre and decided to attend the matinee.

Believe me, this drama could never be viewed in comfort, whether in a theatre or from a couch. I had stuffed my pockets with candy to munch on through the show. After a few pieces, I stopped. I felt sacrilegious even having that candy in my pocket. I heard a woman laugh at the outset, but soon silence reigned. The agony of Christ, so realistically portrayed, made me completely forget any discomfort of my own.

At one point, as Mary Magdalene watched Jesus being brutally beaten, the scene flashed back to the woman caught in adultery. Jesus wrote in the sand and all the men dropped their rocks and fled. As the woman crept up to Christ, gripping His ankles in abject humility, my first thought was of some women who are committing adultery today. But suddenly, I was that woman, once just as sinful, only escaping punishment through His great love and His willingness to bear those stripes for me.

As that woman crawled to Christ and humbly clasped his feet, I came to Him on my knees, unable to stand in His presence. And I must keep reminding myself of His gentle admonition following her forgiveness, accepting it as my own, “Go and sin no more.”

Although this drama is making millions in theatres across our land, I’m sure there are losses at the concession stands. Other than one young man, who munched popcorn at the outset, but soon forgot his snack, no one left the theatre to buy food. When the show ended, complete silence filled the auditorium. Filing out in absolute silence, we passed a line already forming for the next showing. They searched our faces for signs of what we might have experienced. So the world watches us today.

Being an avid reader, I usually say of movies, “I liked the book better.” Though this was an excellent, thought-provoking production, I must say, “I like the Book better.” Reading my Bible in the comfort of my home, I can fool myself into minimizing Christ’s suffering for my sake. After seeing this show, which probably, with all its brutality, doesn’t begin to touch the depth of His agony, I am in awe. How could God love me, a speck of humanity, so much that He would allow His Son to suffer these atrocities for me?

I know now why He had to turn His back on His Son, not that He couldn’t look upon sin, for it breaks His heart every day. I pictured my son, my only son, being tortured as God’s Son, and I knew why. When my son’s heart is broken, mine is shattered. When he hurts, I feel the pain. If that had been my son taking the lashes, I would have had to cry, “Let him go and take me.” That’s exactly what Christ

My new fiction novel, Someday, will soon be available. For more information, email me at nmerical@citynet.net

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