The cross will be center stage on Good Friday as Christians worldwide reflect on the seven last statements of Christ.
It has always impressed me deeply to realize that, even as he was dying, he delivered a sermon that still changes hearts throughout the world.
Frankly, his opening words seem almost impossible.
After all, he had been beaten brutally, stripped and mocked. Soldiers put a razor-sharp crown of thorns on his head and pounded nails through his hands and feet. And yet he was able to say, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
These words call us to forgive everyone, even our darkest enemies. Yes, that includes terrorists, political rivals and that person at work vying for our job.
Despite his suffering, he extended compassion to those near him. To the thief who sought his mercy, he promised, “This day you will be with me in paradise.”
To his mother, who stood beneath the cross, he offered solace by asking John to care for her by saying, “Behold your mother.”
The lesson is a hard one: Even when we are miserable, we should seek ways to comfort others.
As his struggle to breathe intensified, there came the shattering cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Skeptics say this is an admission of despair, but it is the first line of Psalm 22 -- and had an important message.
There, the Old Testament psalmist predicts the crucifixion, mentioning pierced hands and feet, and soldiers casting lots for clothing. Starting with cries of agony, the psalmist closes by fervently praising God.
Thus Christ’s cry from the cross beckons us to cling to God, even when we feel desperate and defeated.
The fifth cry was, “I thirst,” but the longing was more than physical. It was a reminder that we must quench the thirst -- for love -- of anyone who is suffering.
It calls us to see Christ in the poor, the ill and the dying, and to minister to them.
The sermon draws nearly to a close with “It is finished,” a reminder that the crucifixion was no mere accident. Instead, it was God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
The words contain another tough lesson, for we, too, must surrender to God’s plan -- and, yes, it includes our inevitable death.
The very last words are a beautiful prayer indeed: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The saying evokes perfect trust in God’s will. And right after uttering these words, Christ bowed his head and died.
A truly moving sermon can change us forever, and that’s exactly what happened moments later. The sky darkened and the earth shook, and a centurion nearby called out, “Surely this was the Son of God.”
That man was never the same. You see, he was the first convert to Christianity at the foot of the cross.
Lorraine V. Murray is the author of "The Abbess of Andalusia: Flannery O'Connor's Spiritual Journey" and six other books. Her email is lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com.
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