For those who believe in the Lord God Jesus Christ, the Holy Week offers a time for self-reflection and rest that are meant to soothe the soul, mind, and body. For the past years, I have tried to reflect on the seven last messages that the Lord uttered while he hang on the cross in Calvary, while listening to others´ reflections. This year, I did not easily find my favorite digital feeds on the seven last words, so I took that as a sign that I have to rely most on my own thoughts this time. I share with the world these reflections here on my blog site, Pruds.no.
- 1 – Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
When Jesus Christ started saying out loud: ”Father forgive them,” he might have hurt much, in heart and body, having been abandoned by one of the friends he trusted most, Peter, even while the Roman guards beat him and hung him on the cross to die as a criminal. That cry was his way of asking help from God, the Father, to help him let go of whatever hurts he have had in his heart.
It seems that forgiveness ranks high among the values that God wants to spread to the world. It is not an easy thing to do, especially when we are still hurting, whether are conscious about that or not.
When he added the words, ”for they know not what they do,” he wanted to expand forgiveness even to those who are not aware they are doing something wrong. He also wanted us to realize that we can be both receivers and inflictors of hurt. There are also instances when our lack of actions and absence can hurt others around us.
Whether we intend it or not, the ”dynamics of hurt” that we help set in motion may or may not be reversible. But nothing is impossible with God´s grace. We can pray for God to forgive us and help us forgive others. We can pray, too, for God to help us know better, so as not to commit the same mistakes as well as how to rectify our mistakes or how to repair the damages the dynamics of hurt might have brought about.
- 2 – I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me. (Luke 23:43)
Jesus Christ first asked God, the Father, to help him forgive everyone, and then shows what forgiveness can bring about.
Dimas, a criminal who was also hanging on the cross heard the Lord´s prayer for forgiveness. Those words encouraged him to see a new possibility. He asked the Lord to remember him, and the Lord responded at once with a resounding yes.
The Lord talked of Paradise, not in the future tense, but in the present tense.
Paradise can mean a lot of things. It is paradise to feel forgiven, or that someone truly cares, no matter how bleak and dark one´s past and present may be. Paradise can also mean a new beginning and a new hope in life.
Through his words for Dimas, God wanted to tell the world that Paradise´s doors are open for anyone who sincerely repents and asks for God´s grace.
- 3 – Woman, he is your son. Son, she is your mother. (John: 19:26–27)
Jesus Christ understood very well the importance of stable parents-child relations in the world. He was asking a parent to accept her child, and that child to accept his parent.
Parents are expected to take care of their children when these are young and unable to care for themselves. The good bonds that evolve in the parent-child relationship allows children to reciprocate positively to their parents, especially when they grow old.
It is good when parents care for as well as respect their children´s rights, and children do the same. Parents create with their children many shared memories, and some may be good and others may not be so good, that some adults may find it hard to maintain or develop closer emotional ties with their parents later in life.
Prayer for forgiveness for our parents may actually help us to ”heal” our memories and extricate us out of old emotional habits we imbibed from our parents and grandparents. We came into this world from our parents, and their examples can affect us much, but with God´s grace and by our own will, we can become who we want to be.
No matter what, God asks us to ”see” our parents, as they have been asked to do it first.
- 4 – Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
Abandonment is a universal feeling. Feeling that ”the world” forgets or junks us, may give us a deep pang in the heart. ”The world” for most of us consists of the people whom we feel closest to.
By crying out, ”My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” Jesus Christ was teaching us how to manage the feelings of sadness, angst, or depression when we suddenly feel detached from our own world and vice versa. We start best by recognizing our feelings and voicing these out.
Expressing feelings through words can help us to cure ourselves and help us get out of the rut we sometimes fall into, just because we are humans and our hearts feel the need to connect with others and they are not there for us at times.
- 5 – I am thirsty. (John 19:28)
Even God can get thirsty.
In the last minutes of his human life, God, the Son, was telling us he was thirsty, literally and figuratively. He wanted water to quench his dry lips and throat. He was also thirsty for compassion from the world, especially the people around him at that time. It would be good if they could be more compassionate, he might have thought at that point.
Humans get thirsty for a lot of things. We thirst for water, as we thirst for knowledge, love, friendship, affection, attention, among other things.
It is a great blessing if the things that can quench our thirst are within our reach. If these were far from us, and we do not have the ability to get these for ourselves, it is okay to tell others or ask others for help. Not everyone will respond positively, and we may even get rejection from some people. We might not always get what we want or ask for, but that is life. Even Jesus Christ got bitter wine, instead of water, when he said he was thirsty.
- 6 – It is finished. (John 19:30)
Jesus Christ wanted to acknowledge his journey in this world was ending, and that his task of saving humanity was accomplished.
There is a time for everything. When we start a project, it is best if we were also able to complete it.
Jesus Christ did not live an easy life. He was born poor, among the working class. In the stories about his childhood, we get the idea he was blessed with loving and supportive parents. This stability apparently helped him to courageously pursue his interests, even though these were something new to them.
Poverty early in life did not deter Jesus Christ from achieving his mission he came to understand early on in life, which is to spread the culture of love and forgiveness, and a better world where everyone can be included. This was in contrast to the status quo at that time, where salvation was purportedly made exclusive only to those who had the means, power, or close connections to these.
When he said the word ”finished,” Jesus Christ must have had a quick flashback of the life he had lived. He did not choose the easy path, but rather persisted in building block after block the society he envisioned: one where the poor have equal chances as the rich in getting saved and be assured of Paradise.
By uttering: ”It is finished,” Jesus Christ reassures us that his life and sacrifice were not in vain because these paved the way for a new way of life for the whole world, where everyone has an equal chance to be saved, regardless of their birth or of their past.
- 7 – Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Luke 23:46)
These words teach us that the end or death is not something to be feared.
It is comforting to hear God, the Son, uttering these words, because they tell us we, too, can say them when our time to part with this world will come.
We can also say these words like a prayer, to help soothe our nerves when everything and everyone seems to be going against our wishes and expectations. Believing someone out there is in our favor, no matter how strong the odds we currently face, gives us hope that our lives and efforts will not be in vain. Like Jesus Christ, we can trust that God, the Father, will take care of us in all sorts of adversity, such that even if our next breath will be the last, we will not be left alone to float in space.
