His Last Words

His Last Words - A Meditation

Now is the time of Your Passion, Oh Lord.

My heart fills with sorrow and sadness,

even as You love me and shower me in Your abundance

and remind me that I’m not alone.

Still, this joy—

the joy of knowing You love me—

is like a whetstone,

sharpening the steel piercing my soul.

The Father showered You in His divine love,

even as You sweated blood, preparing for Your final passion.

We, too, are called

along with Your mother, Mary,

and all who love You,

into this great sorrow,

this heart-piercing passion.

But even in Your most pain-filled moments, Oh My Jesus,

You did not linger long, nor wallow in Your sorrow.

Rather, You stood to receive Your enemies.

When the time came, You allowed them to take You.

You even protected the ear of your captor from the sword of your disciple.

Help us who love You

to stand with You to receive Your enemies in this time.

Help us to hold fast to Your message of love and mercy and forgiveness,

as we walk in their world,

and yet, to protect their ears,

even from the swords of those of us who love You.

Without retort or resistance You withstood mocking and ridicule.

The awful scourging of Your body.

The lies and venom hurled at You by the crowd.

That screaming crowd.

Could it have included any of us?

We, who hailed Your majesty only hours before,

as You entered our holy city?

Still, You knew.

Put to the test, too many of us, who claim to love You most,

will, in the end, deny You.

And You will forgive us.

Your love and mercy really have no limit.

_______

We watch now as You hang from the cross.

Our hearts break as we hear You call to Your Father,

“forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

They’ve taken every tangible thing from You

(Your cloak, Your robes, sandals, Your healing, Your compassion, everything)

and left You naked.

Still, You give.

You offer Your mercy and redemption to damaged sinners,

who, even in our sin, believe.

You offer Your mother to us,

bidding us to accept her nurturing love and to return it.

To seek her guidance and her intercession with You,

just as she implored Your action and Your aid at Cana

on behalf of the bride and her family.

You even offer Your emptiness

as You ask Our Father why He had forsaken You.

As you took on the sin of the whole world,

You didn’t accuse Him or us for Your pain and suffering.

Rather, You yielded to His divine plan.

*****

You thirst for souls now,

even the sour dregs of withered vines.

*****

You declared it “finished,” offering up Your Spirit;

returning to the Father everything He had entrusted to You.

*****

All given for us,

that we might finally comprehend the infinite love with which You love.

A love with no beginning and no end.

A love that existed before time and beyond breath.

A love whose very essence swallows up pain and evil,

fear and death.

A love in which You ask only that we believe,

as we cooperate with You and Your work in our world.

Glory be to You, Oh Holy God.

Be it done unto me according to Your Will.

Come, Holy Spirit, and live in me.

Let our sorrowful hearts be filled with the joy of Your Grace,

overflowing and shared with others,

as we return to You all that is Yours.

All from You.

All for You.

All returned to You,

Oh God, our Father, who art in heaven.

Amen.