Today’s reading entitled “Prisoner of Hope,” is from the work of Jurgen Moltmann. He takes the abandonment of Christ that began at Gethsemane, found its fruition on the cross, and is foundational for the hope we have in Christ. Christ being forsaken by God the father is the greatest suffering that Christ endured according to Moltmann.
“At the center of the Christian faith is the history of Christ’s passion. At the center of this passion is the experience of God endured by the godforsaken, God-cursed Christ.”
Moltmann paints a beautiful, enduring picture with his explanation of why Christ had to face God forsaking Him. For Moltmann Christ outcry on the cross leaves death behind Him, He has gone through it and come out on the other side. He did that for the sake of humanity on our behalves. In His “Why?” we have the answer, and that answer is hope. The hope of Christ’s death is in His selfless endurance. Christ is seemingly trapped in the garden, conquered on the cross, and yet emerges alive. We must embrace the death of Jesus because He embraced it. He suffered so we might have hope.