Sunday Homily, 19 October 2025 - Fr Paul Rowse, OP

At the end of his mortal life with us, Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  That is, the Son of God called on his Father in the depths of suffering and distress.  It was a dark day for humanity when the Son saw his abandonment, when not even God’s only Son seems to catch heaven’s ear.

There are uncertainties about him saying “Why have you forsaken me?”: is he quoting a psalm?  Has he lost sight of heaven?  Is he showing us what to do?  In what sense is he divine?  But there is the inescapable fact that the Father allowed his Son to go and die despite his plea.  It’s a deeply troubling prospect for us – that we might fare no better than he did: when our time comes, we might call out and there’d be no answer.

The Lord’s parable is unusual insofar as the character who stands for God is wicked: the unjust judge.  God isn’t a judge in the narrow sense; nor is he unjust.  Neither are we all noisy, hard-done by widows.  But still the parable is apt.  We enter the parable precisely through the comparisons, however unlikely they are: God is infinitely more just than an unjust judge; our cause is worthier even than a widow wronged because we’re God’s adopted children.  So, if the unjust judge did what is right by that widow because he was worn down into self-interest, how much more will our loving God do right by us who have kept faith with him?

We can take an example from the Lord’s cry on the cross.  What do we do when there’s a deaf heaven?  What happens when there’s no reply?  Take another step.  Keep going.  Especially when we’re suffering or facing a big life problem, we can allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with what’s wrong or what might be wrong later on.  We can think of a litany of woes.  We’re not asked to solve or address all the problems which occur to us.  We are asked, however, just to take the next step, the one in front of you.  Other things will come, but we cannot deal with them until we’ve taken the next step.  Just keep moving.

To help us do that, we should note “Why have you forsaken me?” weren’t the last words the Lord spoke in this life.  He also said, “Father, forgive them” and “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”.  All of the Lord’s sayings on that dark day were turned outward towards God and others.  It wasn’t “Why have I been forsaken?” – as if he felt himself to be all alone in the world – but “Why have you forsaken me?” – because he and the Father are one.

In the depths of suffering, our faith needs to turn our thinking inside out.  It’s not me all alone, but God and me.  That’s the faith that’s needed: to take the next step with God.  With all that is before us, we shall not fare worse than Christ, nor shall we do better than he did.  He is the pioneer of our faith: Christ has reached greater depths of suffering than we shall reach, and he is on our side.  He is enthroned with his Father in light, and wants us to join him.

One final point concerns the resurrection.  There are many ways into the message of Easter.  But the one we shall take with us today is vindication.  The Lord’s resurrection is his vindication over his enemies, foremostly Satan and all who cooperate with him.  The Father heard his Son’s pleas and with great love raised him to life.  So, the Son is vindicated rising from the dead – and the Father, the just judge of all who live.  And we, who persevere in trust in them both, will find we too are vindicated when our mortal bodies are raised up as Christ’s.

May our faith grow all the stronger because we trust God every step of the way.  We draw him into our every thought and feeling and event, conscious that we’re not alone and that he is with us.  The Son’s suffering wasn’t meaningless but meaningful: his suffering is the way to glory, our way.  And our cause is worthy: persevering as God’s beloved children despite all trouble is how we triumph.

Fr Paul Rowse, OP

Parish Priest