“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus humbles himself, not regarding his divine status above humans, but knowing the true worth and value of even the most disinherited persons as equal heirs to God’s kingdom, his kin. He knows the cries of those suffering injustices, oppressed and shackled by yokes, and does not hide from them in their parched places. Instead, the one who is Everlasting Water, knowing their desperation for release, cries out “I thirst” as he hangs on the cross. Jesus glorifies God with his whole being—living, dying, and rising in solidarity with all of creation.
Jesus is more than the one seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is God within us, the Word carved into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who resides in us. We are transformed to be Christ’s body on earth. And we are called to be as Jesus would be in the world: glorifying God by embracing and reciprocating the liberating love of God. Living as Christ’s body is to daily choose solidarity with those suffering and oppressed. In choosing to be with our kin in whatever parched places they find themselves, we ourselves are liberated, too. We forgo our fears, egos, barriers, deceptions, hatred, and instead, as Howard Thurman says, experience a common sharing of mutual worth and value—experiencing the fullness of our intended humanity together. In these moments when we cry out, God responds, “Here I am.” God promises to answer and lead us.
If we seek mutual solidarity, God’s liberating love will guide and transform us to become like a watered garden, a spring that never fails, even in the parched places. We become part of God’s healing work as springs of everlasting water, the presence of God made known among us.
Prayer
Inhale: Lord, we have not heard the cries from parched places.
Exhale: Crack us open like a fresh spring, your presence overflowing.
Rev. Sandy Kim is the Associate Pastor at Southern Pines UMC in Southern Pines