The Seven Last Words of Jesus

Keep Watch with Me: The Seven Last Words of Jesus 

By Sr. Inviolata Mukhaabi, OSB

Father, Forgive Them, for They Know Not What They Do (Luke 23:34)

Who are "THEM"? I look at Jesus hanging on the cross, at the point of death, and saying "Father, Forgive THEM"  and I wonder who he is actually referring to. Those soldiers crucifying him? Sure. The crowds standing by jeering? Indeed. The disciples who ran away and left him alone? Of course! Does that include Peter, who denied him three times? You bet. What about Judas the traitor? Was he forgiven in that single prayer? YES, Jesus forgave Judas. But in some way we were all represented in those categories of people who played a part in putting Jesus on the cross... He forgave us too. Let us not give up as Judas did. Jesus pays our debts on the cross, and forgives all our sins, deliberate or otherwise. Let us give Him a chance to touch and forgive us. "Never despair of God's mercy." (Rule of Benedict 4:74)

Amen I Say to You, This Day You Will Be With Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)

The Kingdom of God belongs to rich and poor alike, the aristocrats and the commoners alike, the saints and sinners alike. No one is excluded from the Kingdom of God; that is , NO ONE who dares to ask to be remembered by Jesus. All the Thief dared to ask was a memory of him; he received something much better: the assurance of Paradise. When we look at Jesus Crucified, let us see what the Thief saw: Lord and King. Even Crucified, God is not powerless; in fact His power to save is greater when he hangs suspended between heaven and earth. Don't lose hope, regardless of what you have done or been accused of doing, Paradise is opened by the Crucified Lord. Just ask.

Woman, Behold Your Son; Son, Behold Your Mother (John 19:26)

"I will not leave you orphans," Jesus said to His disciples. Hanging on the Cross, he keeps that promise. He gives them over to the care of His Blessed Mother. Knowing they will need her strength and faith to deal with his death and the days ahead, Jesus gives His Mother to the disciples. Like the disciples, we need the strength and the faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary in order to understand Jesus, follow Him, and still believe in Him, especially when faced with the spectacle of the Cross. Let us then, turn to Mary our Mother and ask her to pray for us; let us ask her to walk with us; let us ask her to help us see and love Jesus as she does.

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46)

Have you ever felt alone and forsaken, and just at the moment when you would really have used company and support? Well, the Lord, hanging on the cross apparently felt that way. However, He also felt a sense of Hope and trust. When you read Psalm 22, which begins with those words' "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" you realize that it was both a plea for help and an expression of confidence and hope. When we feel abandoned and alone, let us remember that we have a Savior who knows what that feels like; let us then go to him in our loneliness and ask him to keep us company in our hour of need.

I thirst (John 19:28)

I agree with all those who see in this plea of Jesus a spiritual longing. However, I also agree with those who basically see it as it was: an expression of a physical need of a crucified Man. In those words of Jesus we hear the need of those who lack bare necessities of life like water and food; we hear the longing of those who are helpless and are hoping that someone(you or me) will hearken to their aid. Of course we hear the spiritual longing in the Crucified Savior as he longs to share in our life. He is thirsting for your life and mine, hoping that we can offer him a drink from our life to quench his spiritual thirst. Will we heed the Lord's need? What will we offer Him? Cheap wine? Vinegar? Or a heart contrite and humbled.

It Is Finished (John 19:30)

In these three words is a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. Jesus has done all he came to do. In the Garden, he prayed to be spared, but the Father's will was that he should drink the cup of suffering. Hanging on the cross, at the point of death, the Obedient Son has carried out His Father's will, and all that remains is to trust that the Father knows what comes next. In these three words we can find our own sense of finality. When we have done all we could do, we can be like Jesus and trust that God has the plan and the map, and He knows the next step.

Father, Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit (Luke 23:46)

The entire life of Jesus, from incarnation to the death on the cross has been one act of surrender. "My food is to do the will of My Father," "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many," "Let it be as you will it," are all examples of Jesus' selfless life, a total giving of self to carry out the mission of redemption. With his final breath, all he has left is to surrender the breath of life - his spirit - into the hands of His Father. May this be our inspiration and our source of strength as we seek to give of ourselves to God's mission.

The Cross Exemplifies Every Virtue - St. Thomas Aquinas

What a beautiful reflection St. Thomas Aquinas has about the Cross of Christ. As I prayed with this during the Office of Readings this morning, which happens to be the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, I felt compelled to share it with you all. 

"Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us? There was a great need, and it can be considered in a twofold way: in the first place, as a remedy for sin, and secondly, as an example of how to act. 

  It is a remedy, for, in the face of all the evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through the passion of Christ. Yet, it is no less an example, for the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what he desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue.

  If you seek the example of love: Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his friends. Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if he gave his life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for his sake. 

  If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Great patience occurs in two ways: either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid. Christ endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because when he suffered he did not threaten; he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth. Therefore Christ’s patience on the cross was great. In patience let us run for the prize set before us, looking upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who, for the joy set before him, bore his cross and despised the shame. 

  If you seek an example of humility, look upon the crucified one, for God wished to be judged by Pontius Pilate and to die.

  If you seek an example of obedience, follow him who became obedient to the Father even unto death. For just as by the disobedience of one man, namely, Adam, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man, many were made righteous.

  If you seek an example of despising earthly things, follow him who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Upon the cross he was stripped, mocked, spat upon, struck, crowned with thorns, and given only vinegar and gall to drink.

  Do not be attached, therefore, to clothing and riches, because they divided my garments among themselves. Nor to honours, for he experienced harsh words and scourgings. Nor to greatness of rank, for weaving a crown of thorns they placed it on my head. Nor to anything delightful, for in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." 

May we look to the Cross as we struggle to understand our own crosses. St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us! 

Awake, O Sleeper, and Rise From the Dead

(An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday)

The Lord's Descent Into Hell "What is happening?  Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. ‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise. ‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person. ‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden. ‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image. 'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one. `I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you. ‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God. "The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages."

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 6: You opened my side with a lance

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

I opened the sea before you; you opened my side with a lance

Let’s consider the symbolism of opening the Red Sea. The people were sandwiched between the pursuing Egyptians and the sea. They had no way out. They needed a miracle to get them out, to deliver them. God provided that by the hand of Moses using the staff. The Lord didn’t have to bring them out of Egypt via that route, but he chose that route. Thus at the Red Sea, God claimed victory and glory over the Egyptians in the sight of the Israelites. He delivered them with a promise “The Egyptians you see before you, you will never see again” (Exodus 14:13). There will be other enemies, but not this group.

Standing beneath the cross of the Crucified Savior, we can’t help but be splashed with the water and the blood flowing from His wounded side. According to tradition, the Roman soldier who thrust that lance in the side of Jesus converted and became a Saint (St. Longinus). That is the power of the water flowing from the fountain of the Savior. Think of the Grace of Baptism, and the fact that through baptism we are born into the death and resurrection ot Christ. Torrents from the opened side of the Savior deliver us from the power of original sin. We still have to fight sins, due to the effects of that original sin, but we have the power to defeat Sin because we have been washed with the Blood and Water flowing from the side of the Savior.

Let us stand with Longinus at the foot of the Cross as we contemplate the One hanging on that Tree. Let us however, not continue to pierce the wounded heart of the Savior. Let us allow the Precious Blood of the Savior to flow over us and cleanse us. We can’t undo the piercing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The question we can ask ourselves, however, and to which we can respond with love and gratitude is: “What about all His Blood? Will you waste all His Blood?”

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 4: You Handed me over to the Chief Priests and Pilate

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

1. I led you out of Egypt, overwhelming Pharaoh in the Red Sea; you have delivered me to your high priests. (Reproach #5)
2. I went before you in a pillar of cloud; you have led me to the judgment hall of Pilate. (Reproach #7)

What was the Sin of the chief priests? It is not that they were priests - that was a special calling to minister in the temple of the Lord. In a way, they were to mediate between God and the people. That was not a sin. The problem with the chief priests of Jesus’ time was that they were liars; they gave lip service to God, but did not really seek His will; they dictated the law to others without actually living it themselves; they were, as Jesus pointed out, “Hypocrites and Unmarked Tombs.” They replaced the Pillar of cloud with their own judgment. Like Pilate, they were after self preservation and self righteousness instead of seeking to listen to God’s voice and follow in his ways.

Before we start pointing fingers at the “ordained priests” of our time, let me just remind all of us that by virtue of our baptism, we have been incorporated into the Royal Priesthood of Jesus. We are priests too, so maybe we are guilty of the sin of the Chief Priests in our day: we sit in judgment over others, yet we are guilty of the same charges we bring against them; we look so pious, yet we are very poor Christians; we appear very devout, but we are divorced from Christ; we keep the commandments, but we are cold and unsympathetic towards others.

Therefore, from the Cross, the Savior says to us: I went before you because I wanted to be your leader. I want you to follow Me, not the other way round. I want to light up your way with the radiance of My cross. I want to teach you the truth which will set you free. I want you to live your life for Me. I want you to be true to your calling to share in My Royal Priesthood. I want you to lead others to Me, to be a light for those in darkness, a guide for the blind, encouragement to the faint-hearted. I am the Crucified Savior because I chose the Cross. I want you to accept me as such, and help others find Me.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 3: You handed Me over to be scourged

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me. 

For your sake, I scourged your captors, and you have brought your scourges down upon Me.

The 10 plagues inflicted on the Egyptians before the Exodus was God's way of saying to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelites: I AM THE LORD! Thanks to their hardness of heart, none of them really got the message. The Jewish people forgot the significance of those plagues. Hence the Crucified Savior complains about that:

The freed people became the persecutors; they held the Son of God in bondage and would not let Him go, even when Pilate (a pagan) tried to set Him free. They delivered their Savior to the scourges of the Romans (pagan people); like Pharaoh, they had hardened their hearts to the Voice of God in their midst. In Egypt, on the first Passover, God spared His people from the scourges he inflicted on the Egyptians; on this Passover, God did not spare His only Son from the Scourges. Jesus is the lamb without blemish, whose sacrificial blood saves us from captivity to sin.

From the Cross, the Savior says to us: See My broken flesh. I received these scourges for you; I didn't have to endure them, but I chose to for your sake. I did not lay aside My mission in order to appease the leaders and the elite of My time, and neither should you; I did not hide My identity just so I could get along with others and have a long life, and neither should you; I did not take the easy way out, and neither should you. I did not compromise my values and principles just so I don't offend others, and neither should you. Every time you fail to stand up for Me, you deal a fresh round of scourges on My already torn flesh.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 2: You Gave Me Vinegar to Drink

O my People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me. 

I planted you as my most fair vine, but you yielded only bitterness; when I was thirsty you gave me vinegar to drink, and you pierced your Savior’s side with a lance. 
I gave you the water of salvation to drink from the rock; you have given me gall and vinegar to drink. (Reproach #9)

The Prophet Isaiah vividly describes Israel as the vineyard of the Lord. God has done so much; he has done all he could for his vineyard. His complaint? He did not get the expected fruits: instead of choice wine, he got bitter vines. (See Isaiah 5:1-6). The people became complacent lovers, too sure of God’s love; they took so much for granted; they did not produce the expected fruits. What has this to do with the Passion of Christ?

We are the new Israel, the Lord’s vineyard. With the Passion of Christ, there is nothing that God could do for us that He hasn’t done. He practically gave his own life! “What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven’t done?” is a very legitimate question. On the lips of the dying Savior the Church places this complaint against us who are lukewarm, indifferent and fickle: what more could I have done for you that I didn’t do? 

Love is meant to be reciprocated; love is only love when it is shared; a loving relationship is a give and take relationship. The Lord has lavished his unconditional love on us, his vineyard, but he comes looking for fruit. When he is thirsty, he hopes we will quench his longing; It is not enough for us to be branches on the Vine; we must do our part and bring forth good fruit. It is not easy to be a Christian, for like the Vine stretched out on the wood of the Cross, we must be willing to stretch ourselves out on the Vine; we must give of ourselves. 

There is no Christian without the Cross of Christ. And thus from the cross Christ says to us: You are my choicest vine; I have planted you, watered you, fenced you, nourished you; provided for all your needs. I come to you thirsty and hungry; would you quench my thirst with the best of your wine? will you feed me with the best of your fruit? You are not alone; you are part of me, and if you let me, I will make of you the best wine and the best fruit. I thirst, not for cheap wine or vinegar, but for you my best wine.

REPROACHES #1 & #2: You Prepared a Cross for your Savior

My People, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

1. I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, but you led your Savior to the Cross.

2. Forty years I led you safely through the desert; I fed you manna from heaven, and led you into a land of plenty, but you led your Savior to the Cross.

The memory of the Exodus was never to be forgotten by the Chosen People; they were to pass it on to future generations; At the last supper, Jesus asks his apostles to preserve the memory of this particular Passover. As the new chosen people, we are to eternally remember the Paschal Mystery. From the cross, Jesus says to us:

Will you forget this moment? will you forget what I freely chose to do in order to redeem you for God; You prepared the cross for me, but I chose to accept it. I did it all for love. I did it for you, that generations to come might hear and remember. I freed you from slavery in Egypt, I provided for all your needs during the forty years in the desert; you did not lack anything, because I was your Savior. Yet you bound My hands and feet in shackles and led Me to be crucified.

In the desert, I kept you safe; I fed you and nourished you; I brought you into a bountiful land; I gave all this to you because you are my people. I had chosen you in love to be mine among all the peoples of the earth. How did you repay me?

You led Me to the cross, I your Savior who stood by you even when you turned away from Me. You rejected Me; you gave Me the cross, a symbol of slavery and shame. But I turned it into a symbol of victory and power, so that you will not forget. In your wanderings, remember to seek me. When you seek me you will find me where you put me - on the Cross.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION #12: You Hung Me on the Cross

O my people, What Have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me.

With great power I lifted you up, but you have hung me on the Cross

This complaint is the summary of what God did for His Chosen People: He exalted them in the sight of other nations. He built them up from a no people to a great nation. He established them as a kingdom and they reward for that was the Passion of the Messiah. When He sent them the long awaited Messiah, they crucified Him. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself,” Jesus says in John 12:32. To this prophetic declaration, the crowds respond with “Who is this Son of Man?” (John 12:34). That is the eternal question which remains as new today as it was 2000 years ago among the Jewish people.

Which identity of Jesus do I like? I am ready to accept the infant Jesus, the miracle Worker, or the transfigured Jesus. But how do I relate to the Crucified Jesus? How could the Christ suffer and die? It was the baffling question among the Jews and even Jesus’ disciples. It remains the mystery to us as well. That is why we call the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus “The Paschal Mystery.” Jesus will forever be the Crucified Lord. The Cross is the best explanation of what Jesus was all about. Jesus chose to embrace the Cross, so this complaint is more about where we are in relation to Jesus, than where Jesus is on the Cross.

From His Cross, the Savior says to us: You hung Me up there on the Cross, but you are still on the earth below; All I ever wanted was to exalt you, so that you would be where I am; I want you with Me, because you are the reason I embraced the Cross. Where I am there My servant will be also. By My death on that Cross, I have exalted you up too; I have won for you an eternal place in the house of My Father. I have lifted you up and set you apart; I have consecrated you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be. Therefore, take up your cross and follow Me. And remember, whenever you crucify yourself for My sake, I will be right there with you on the Cross.

O My People, What Have I Done to You? How Have I Offended You? Answer Me

Because I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, you led your Savior to the Cross.

REPROACHES of THE PASSION Set 7: You Gave Me a Crown of Thorns

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer Me. 

For you I struck down the kings of Canaan; you have struck My head with a reed.

I gave you a royal scepter; you have given Me a crown of thorns.

“We have no king but Ceasar!” was the cry of the bloodthirsty crowd on that Good Friday. That was definitely a lie, because they hated the Romans, hated being under the dominion of Ceasar, and they could not wait for the Messiah to come soon enough to liberate them from the Roman rule. By this cry, they were rejecting God as their King, they were rejecting their place as the Chosen People. Recall in 1 Samuel, the people asked for a king so that they could be like the other nations around them, and while Samuel was distressed, God assured him that it was not Samuel they had rejected but God Himself as their King.

God established the Kings in Israel. He established them as a sovereign nation having an exclusive relationship with God as their King. He gave them a royal scepter, both as a historical symbol of power and the spiritual symbol of the Messianic reign. Just as to them, God has given us a royal scepter: a free intellect and free will. Unfortunately, we have taken the scepter and turned it into an instrument of destroying the Kingdom of God. We have turned our royal scepter into a reed with which to strike the head of Christ.

Forming a crown of thorns is not an easy feat. It took skill and thought to twist those thorns right. It was meant to hurt, especially considering the thorns were pressed onto the head of Christ. That was not an accidental thought. Let us think of all our willful, premeditated wrongdoings and sins. They are thorns piercing the Sacred Head of Jesus. Let us consider times we have encouraged others to sin; moments we have refrained from doing the right thing due to fear; moments we have flattered others instead of helping them by telling them the truth; moments we have been bad influence on others. At all those moments, we have offered a crown of thorns to Christ. 

A crown of thorns and striking the Lord on the head  with a reed were all acts of mockery, meant to hurt and humiliate Him. Think of how Christians are persecuted because of their faith; think of instances when the civil state dictates what the Church can or cannot do. Those are thorns pressed into the head of Jesus. From the Cross, the Savior asks us to remember His pain and humiliation.