"Where are you?"

Have you ever wondered what was the saddest moment in history?  What has been the darkest hour in creation?  I would submit that there are two equally and intrinsically linked saddest moments, and that they both revolve around the question "where are you?"

Scene 1:  The Garden.

God has finished His work of creation and everything is good.  We see humanity as the pinnacle of God's creativity.  Scripture describes Adam and Eve as being "naked" which I think may be one of the most beautiful descriptions in Scripture.  They were naked before God and naked before each other.  Perfect relationship.  Nothing hidden.  Fully present and fully known.  Adam and Eve had an intimacy with God that we will only know in Heaven.  Adam and Eve had a depth with each other that we can only catch glimpses of now.

Naked.

And then the Fall.  Their ate, their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked.  They knew they were naked so they hid themselves.  This beautiful and perfect state was broken and stained.

Then God comes walking in the garden.  He calls to them "where are you?" (Gen 3:8) not because they were hiding from an omnipresent and omniscient God.  God said this as an expression of the severed intimacy.  In one bite Adam and Eve went from perfect relationship with God to complete isolation.

Scene 2: Palestine

Emmanuel has come.  Jesus has been leading his band of misfit disciples around the countryside and now they have come to Jerusalem to start the revolution.  Everything seems perfect.  But then in a flash Jesus is arrested, tried, convicted, and executed.  Upon a hillside between two bandits Jesus hangs dying.  

As Jesus takes on the sins of humanity, my sins, Jesus who was one with the Father (Jn 17:11) suddenly becomes isolated from the Father.  Jesus who is God, and knows an intimacy with the Father that is beyond my comprehension, was cut off from God.  His perfect relationship was eclipsed by my sins.  In that moment of Hell Jesus cried out "where are you?" (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mk 15:34).

Jesus died alone to save me.  He also decided to stop being dead that I may know life.  Jesus went through the Hell of isolation that we may no longer be isolated.  We have hope.  We can go home.  Jesus has overcome.