VI - "It is finished"

VI - "It is finished"

John 19:30

"A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "it's finished", and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

When Christ says it is finished, he is not saying that it is all over.

No. Instead, he is saying it is accomplished. It is completed.

A meditation for those discerning their vocation in life: When you reach old age and you lie back in your bed, what will you be thinking of when you say "it is finished, it is accomplished." What will you have accomplished? What work will you have finished?

V - "I thirst"

 

"I thirst"

John 19:28

 

Most of us know what a mild thirst is like and, fortunately, we can quench our thirst readily. However, a lasting thirst is, apparently, a terrible way to suffer.

 

In hearing Christ cry out, "I thirst", we sense the agony he is enduring.

 

How ironic - here is a man who gave water to the Samaritan woman at the well and who spoke of himself as the "living water".

 

For now, let us dwell for a moment on the human experience of thirsting and suffering, endured by Christ on Good Friday.

 



IV - "...why...?"

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 15:34

"At midday a darkness fell over the whole land, which lasted until three in the afternoon; and at three Jesus cried aloud, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Are these the starkest words in the Gospels? Jesus feels abandoned. What a consolation to all of us who feel alone during a rough period of our lives. Even though we believe, the consolations of God may seem far off.

In a Good Friday reflection, Timothy Radcliffe, OP, says that "even the experience of the absence of God is somehow brought within God's own life" by  these words.

Jesus makes these words, heard also in Psalm 22, his own, and they are there for us too when we feel anguish...

III - "Behold your son..."

"Woman, behold your son!...Behold your mother."

John 19: 26-27

Our attention shifts to those gathered at the foot of the cross. We know that Mary, Jesus' mother is there, as is the disciple John. Also present are Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleopas. It's nothing like the huge crowds that followed Jesus in the years before this!

Perhaps this is a moment to reflect on our families - our mothers, our fathers, our sons, our daughters, our brothers and sisters...

When we pray to Mary we are praying to a woman, a mother who knows what pain is...

II - "..in Paradise"

"Today you will be with me in Paradise."

Luke 23:43

These words of the crucified Christ are uttered to the "Good Thief" who asks "Jesus, remember me when you come in to your Kingdom."

This is the great promise of our faith. What we see around us in this world is not all that there is. There is more. There is also the promise of an eternal, heavenly paradise.

We can anticipate Christ's response...."you will be with me in Paradise". Let's focus for a while now on our request, "Remember me when you come in  to your Kingdom."

I - "Forgive them...

 

 

"Forgive them, for they know not what they do"

 

Luke 23:34

Christ's response on the cross is not anger. It is to forgive.

How often in our lives do we forgive? How often do we pray for our enemies? The easier option is to hate, to bear a grudge, to foster resentment.

Christ on the cross is an icon of forgiveness.

The Seven Last Words

The devotion to the Seven Last Words can be traced back to the 12th century. They have been a rich source of deep reflection and meditation for Christians.

The Seven Last Words refer not to individual words but seven phrases uttered by Our Lord on the cross.

Seven, in the Bible, is always associated with perfection and completion. Genesis tells us that God created the world and rested on the seventh day when all was complete. The Seven Last Words are associated with a new completion...

Today, I invite you to use the Seven Last Words as part of your Good Friday retreat...I will post them here throughout the day...