Darkness came over all the land

For the full context of this post read Matthew 27: 20-56.

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)

Today is Good Friday. It is a day that Christians typically gather to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ, and to pay specific focus to the final days which led to Jesus’s crucifixion. It is a somber day. The first “Good Friday” was a day when darkness fell over the land about noon and remained until roughly three o'clock. Pitch black darkness during mid day. This year Christians will not gather to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ. This year our reflection will be done in solitude, and the day will be even more somber than in years past. This year it feels as if darkness has covered our land.

COVID-19 cases increase daily and the death toll rises. The normalcy of life has been disrupted and it is easy to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken us?” People are sick. People are dying. Everyone is at risk. Darkness has covered our land.

Jesus cried out to God, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Not long after that, he cried out again, possibly a moan of anguish, and gave up his spirit. He died. But the scripture account does not end there. Immediately following Jesus’s last breath, the curtain in the temple was split from bottom to top, an earthquake occurred, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. God was on the move!

God remains on the move. We are globally mourning losses daily. We are forewarned that the worst is yet to come. Darkness is over the land. When it feels as if God has forsaken you, your loved ones, or even all of us, hold on to hope. Immediately following the darkness, when we are at our end, cannot take any more, cry out in anguish and give it up, God will prove that he is still God. I don’t know what the end of this pandemic will look like. I am sure that there will not be an earthquake which brings believers who have died back to life. But I do know that though it feels dark, though we feel forsaken, God will use this time and experience to reveal that he is still a God of power and that he has not forsaken us.