Global Scholars Canada

Sharing an Easter meditation from one of our newest board members, Ruth Hayhoe, from a series on the last phrases Jesus spoke on the cross: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34) ... The first and last words of Jesus on the cross begin with Father first Father, forgive them, and finally Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. At the grave of Lazarus he said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me (John 11:40). But in this fourth cry, one feels the depth of anguish Jesus felt in being forsaken by his Father with this piercing cry of My God, My God. It is the only one recorded in two Gospels, Matthew and Mark, and given in Aramaic, Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani, transliterated and translated into Greek, then English. One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ life on earth was bringing people to know God as Father, and many of us begin each day with the prayer he taught us, Our Father who art in Heaven. While God is depicted as a father reaching out to Israel in a few places in the Books of Moses and the prophets, it is not until the New Testament, in both the gospels and the letters from the apostles that God’s fatherly love to all who will come near, whether Jew or Gentile, is fully expressed, both in the teaching of Jesus and then in his journey to the cross. For fifteen years I have been coordinating interfaith discussion classes at St Pauls and last year we focused on Christian Islamic dialogue and visited a delightful storefront mosque not far from here, where we received a warm welcome from the Imam and the congregation. We observed prayers and lessons in Arabic for the women, then the Imam shared a powerpoint he had prepared in answer to questions we sent in advance. We found much to admire in the devotion to Allah evident in the prayers and other aspects of Koranic teaching, but there was one question to which we did not get an answer that of the relationship of Muslims to Allah. While we are so blessed as Christians to be able to approach God as our Father, this does not seem to be the case in the Islamic understanding of Allah. However in Confucian heritage cultures Heaven is the term for God, while father and family are the microcosm of society so Tian Fu () - Heavenly Father - has deep cultural resonance! This was one of the precious insights into our own faith coming out of the dialogue, and this fourth word of Christ on the cross helps us to understand how profound was the cost to our Savior of making this possible: My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?

GSC 2021 Spring Newsletter https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Global-Scholars-Canada-

http://www.globalscholarscanada.ca//welcome-new-board-mem/

http://www.globalscholarscanada.ca/