FIRST WORD
“Father forgive them; for they know not what they do,” These words are from St. Luke 23:34. They are the first of the so-called “Last Words of Christ.” In the days ahead we shall, in brief form, look at each one of the seven statements, plus one more that will take us to consider Resurrection.
What a difference this world would be if nations and people accepted and followed Jesus’ example of forgiveness. To forgive implies cessation of retaliation and harm. The struggles and violence that surrounds us would be no more. Rather than armaments and fighting for turf, we could direct our energies toward more productive and helpful endeavors. Unfortunately, what daily takes place in the world and in our section of Los Angeles reminds us that forgiveness is not most people’s first response when they believe someone has harmed them.
We can find contemporary examples of those who chose the better course. On October 2, 2006, Charles Roberts walked into the West Nickel Mines Amish School near Lancaster, Pennsylvania and shot ten young girls, five of whom died. He then committed suicide. Charlie told the girls he was angry with God over the death of his young daughter nine years earlier.
In response to this violent act, the Amish community cast no blame. What they did was to reach out with grace and compassion toward the killer’s family. The afternoon of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the girls who was killed, expressed forgiveness toward Charles Roberts. That same day, Amish neighbors visited the Roberts family to offer comfort. The Roberts family later was invited to the funeral of one of the Amish children. This is how forgiveness is made real! As we reflect on Christ’s response to those who brought Him harm we can find comfort, hope, and assurance that Jesus’ statement of forgiveness reaches out to each of us today. I invite you to pray with me.
Almighty God, we come to You today to express our appreciation for the assurance that our sin is forgiven. It matters not who we are or what we have done,Your mercy and grace is ours. Help us to grasp and cherish this promise that we claim in Jesus’ name, Amen.
SECOND WORD
“Thou shalt be with me in paradise,” Luke 23:43.
How to explain the statement a condemned and dying man directed toward the man next to him who was in the same incomprehensible situation as he. Three convicts. Three condemned under law. Three abandoned souls. Then, of a sudden, on of the hopeless men turned toward the one hanging on the center cross, examined the bruised and broken body, sought to view his face, look into his eyes, and then...and then he spoke, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” How do you explain such an outrageous statement? What kingdom awaited a despised, rejected man whose life was moment by moment ebbing away. Yet here it is: “I want to be in your kingdom, Lord.” “Is there a place for an outcast like I?” “Can your kingdom really be open to one like I?” Jesus responds with a statement that has rung down through the ages; a statement that brings hope to every human heart: “Thou shalt be with me in paradise.” What a promise, a promise that gives us hope. An assurance that lifts us into the very presence of the
Almighty. We shall be with Jesus in Paradise. Think of it! The man on the cross is the Great King. Strip off the trappings of failure. Upon him place the royal robe. Let the crown upon his head descend. The king enthroned, and we, his children, are assured a place. Let us pray.
Jesus, Lord, Savior, we come to you today thankful that we have the opportunity to hold firm firm to the assurance that a great and wondrous kingdom awaits. We honor, we worship the one who once hung lifeless on a cross. The story did not end that day. Wonder of wonders, an unknown man who, like our Lord, was crucified. suddenly, without warning, cried out, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” “Remember me, he said. Like he we say, “Remember us, Lord. Thank you that we have this hope: we can share life with you.” This is God’s good news for every one of us. We have life through faith in our Lord. Amen.
THIRD WORD
“Mother, behold, your son...behold, your mother,” John 19:26, 27.
The third of the “Seven Last Words of Christ” Jesus spoke, not to the group of women, but to his mother and to one of his disciple. The language used is reminiscent of adoption. Tradition tells us the disciple Jesus addressed was John, the Beloved, but, scripture does not identify the disciple. What we are told is that Jesus, in his last moments, reached out to his mother and placed her future and care in the hands of one of His followers. Where were Mary’s other children? Might they not care for their mother? Why not Simon Peter? He had a wife and a house? Why not entrust Aunt Elizebeth, his mother’s sister who was herself near by at the cross, to care for her sister? We have no answer to these questions. What we do know is that round the cross were Jesus’ mother, some other women, and a disciple. The final moments in
Jesus’ life provided opportunity to create a new relationship. The disciple addressed took Mary as his own mother, and she accepted the disciple as a son.
Jesus may have felt the weight of the sins of the world on His shoulders. He also found it essential to assure that a middle-aged widow was provided care. A simple thing? Not at all! Care for those who have need defines mature, responsible behavior. This man who unjustly was hung on a cross, the truly only innocent who ever lived, directed his attention, not to his impossible situation, but to His mother’s need.
We praise Your name, O lord. We give thanks that in Christ we find hope and assurance that we are not alone. You are ever with us. When we walk through the shadows, You are our light. When we fear, You are our help. When we are weak, You are our strength. Be with us now and evermore. Amen.
FOURTH WORD
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34.
Listen again to these words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? How to imagine such a thing? A father deserting his son, a son who has been forsaken by all who were important to him, a son condemned to death. Why? Was the father ashamed? Disappointed? Had the father disowned him? Common sense, common responsibility rejects such a dishonorable act as to disown ones one flesh and blood in the time of greatest need. There must be more. There has to be more. And there is!
The willingness expressed by Jesus to descend to this earth from the heavenly places is a mystery that confounds the wisest minds and frustrates those who wish to have all knowledge. When we examine Jesus’ life from its beginnings in Bethlehem until the conclusion in Jerusalem we are left with more questions than answers. We are puzzled when we examine Jesus’ teachings and his behavior. Are we really to love our enemies? Is it our duty to reach out to all who have need and relieve their suffering? Why did the religious people of his day reject him? Why did the people cry out for his death and demand he be crucified? This is the one who healed the sick, raised the dead, extended his love to restore the fallen. And the crowd demands he die? And now he, in his great hour of need withers under the threat of his
father’s absence.
Jesus came to earth to restore the human family to where it had been prior to the sin that separated us from our creator. Our parents chose to live apart from the one who gives life. As he hung on the cross that fateful day, Jesus’ experienced the aloneness that countless others felt when apart from their creator. Jesus, that grim day on Golgotha, walked that lonesome valley that when we walk that same road we will not walk alone. Our Lord is with us now and evermore.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, when calamity strikes, when violence erupts about us and unseen forces invade our land and brings mysterious illness upon our nation, we, like others before, cry out, “Our God, why have you deserted us? Where are you in our time of need? We long for you to restore our broken world. Open our eyes, Lord, that we may understand we are not alone. We can trust the one who joined us in our trek. This we know, our Lord was triumphant over death. He was not alone, nor are we. In despair there came forth triumph. We know, for we have read the last chapter. We know how the story ends. Praise God! Amen.
FIFTH WORD
“I thirst.” John 19:28.
The simple statement, “I thirst,” provides opportunity for us to reflect on the one we call Master, Savior, God. Yes, all of these are true, but there is one more attribute: human.
There are three essentials if one wishes to sustain life. In order of priority they are air, water, nourishment. Jesus did not say, “I’m hungry.” He did not say,”I need air.” He said, “I thirst.”
This simple statement of a dying man initiated a strange and memorable response from those who stood by to observe the spectacle. People came to witness a triad execution of the condemned. How could one let that pass? Of a sudden was heard a voice above the moans, “I thirst.” The observers found a pole, retrieved a sponge and saw nearby a bowl near filled with vinegar. A dip of the sponge in the bowl to sop up the vinegar, someone grabbed a sprig of hyssop, a quick squeeze of the sponge to soak the hyssop and the thirst could be satisfied.
Hyssop soaked in vinegar. Think back, far back, when once upon a time hyssop was dipped into a bowl, a bowl not filled with vinegar. That bowl held blood and the hyssop splashed the blood on the door post and the angel of death passed by that home, the home protected by the blood of a lamp. Now hyssop is extended to the Lamb of God. This man who thirsted had spoken the words that brought forth the earth. This Emanuel, God with us, now is offered sour vinegar to quench his thirst. Please join me in prayer.
Our heavenly Father, we, too, thirst. There is within us that which cries out, “Give me Lord, what will satisfy my soul.” We thirst for relief from the anxieties that lurk within us. We thirst to escape from the pressures of life We thirst for the assurance that God is with us and will guide us to make the right decisions that lie ahead. In your mercy give us these, we pray O Lord, that our thirst be satisfied. Amen.
SIXTH WORD
“It is finished,” John 19:30. This is the sixth of what are known as the “Seven Last Words of Christ.”
What more is there to say? His work.was done. Several English words are necessary to translate the one Greek word, telos, a word that fundamentally meant “to carry out” the will of somebody, whether oneself or another. When Jesus spoke this word it was to proclaim His death on a cross was a fulfillment of personal obligations and was itself a religious act. He is the Shepherd who lay down His life for His sheep. He is the lamb, slain from the foundations of the world. This last word of Jesus, as recorded only in John’s gospel, invites us to reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death as a son obeying his father.
Think back to another son, who, in obedience, followed his father to an unknown place for an unknown purpose. Abraham had been commanded by God to go to the land of Moriah and on that mountain sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son, as a burnt offering. There is one significant difference between the Abraham/Isaac event and Jesus’ death on a cross. Abraham, at the moment he was to bring down the knife to take his son’s life, was commanded to stop. A ram, caught in a bush, was sacrificed. Isaac was spared. In Jesus’ case, He is the lamb. He was not spared. By his own choice He gave His life that we might have life. For this He had come into the world. That purpose He fulfilled. He “handed over” His spirit. Jesus’ death was a conscious act. Earlier, in John 10:18, Jesus said, “I have authority to lay down my life....” And so He did.
Let us pray.
Blessed and gracious God we, Your daughters and sons, are grateful that You welcome us into Your phenomenal kingdom. Everything possible has been done to assure that no person is excluded. It is Your will that all be saved. Nothing more could have been done to provide for our salvation. At the cross we see God’s final statement. It is finished. His divine purpose is complete. The way is open for us to be with our Lord, made possible by the life, death and resurrection of our Lord the Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.
SEVENTH WORD
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46.
The last cry of a dying man speaks for us all. Is this not our desire that as we come to the final point of life that we submit our spirit into the care of the Almighty? In full confidence Jesus, the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us, the Mighty God, he whose Word in the beginning brought forth life, without condition, announced, “Father, I put all that I am, all that I hope into your hands.
When speaking of his Father-God, Jesus stated that no one knows the Son but the Father and no one knows the Father but the Son, Matthew 11:27. The point is, Jesus had a strong and enduring relationship with the One to whom he was willing to entrust his eternal fate. It is one thing for us to trust someone to feed our dog or mow our lawn. It is quite another to turn our eternal destiny over to another. We better have a solid track record of accountability and competency before we make that move. Jesus had this kind of relationship with the One to whom he, with confidence, stated, “Into Your hands I commend my eternal destiny.”
It is our opportunity, through Jesus the Messiah, to develop the same confidence in the Father as did the Son. The Son, whom to know is to know the Father. I invite you to join in this prayer:
Our loving and trustworthy Father, we, your children, seek to know You as we would know our best and most trusted friend. Please be gentle with us as we move through life. We set about to be the kind of person You would have us be and then, our best intentions too often end in failure. When this happens, we are confident that when we ask you to forgive us our request is granted. Jesus forgives us our sin. He never gives up on us. Scripture assures us that if we want to know what You are like and how You feel toward us, we can always look to your Son. You and Your Son are the same. If we want to know what You are like, we can depend on Jesus to give us the answer. If Your Son was confident to give his life into Your care, so can we. Thank you. Amen.
—Larry Downing