Darkness

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?').When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.Mark 15:33-37

When the creator dies, creation responds. The lights go out.

When the Lord of all the earth, is abandoned, the earth responds. The lights go out.

When the Son is forsaken. The lights go out.

And when the lights go out - you can't see. Your other senses pick up. You hear the slightest noise. And it is in this moment, that Jesus shouts. Twice in this short reading, we read that Jesus used a loud voice. It's the only times that Mark describes Jesus using a loud voice. It seems like it wasn't Jesus style. He didn't shout to get his way. But here, in the agony he was feeling - he could do nothing but shout.

Jesus didn't shout to get his way. However there are two other places, both in John's gospel that Jesus uses a loud voice. The first is an invitation, the second is a command.

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.John 7:37

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"John 11:43

Put together with our reading today - we have a trio of hope. It is because Jesus cried out in agony, that he is able to give all who are thirsty the gracious invitation to come to him and drink. And he can command even the dead to come out of their grave.

Out of the darkness, light shines.