Before the Crucified

Detained by the security forces of the Temple, Jesus no longer has any doubt: the Father has not listened to his wishes to continue to live; his disciples flee, looking out for their own safety.  He is alone.  His plans are vanishing.  Execution awaits him.  Jesus’ silence during his last hours is eerie.  Nonetheless, the evangelists have gathered some of his words on the cross.  They are brief, and yet they helped the first Christian generations to remember the crucified Jesus with love and gratitude.

Luke’s recollection has to do with those words said by Jesus while being crucified.  Between shudders and cries of pain, he manages to utter a few words that reveal what is in his heart: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  That is how Jesus is.  He has asked those who belong to him: “Love your enemies”; “Pray for those who mistreat you.”  Now it is he himself who dies forgiving.  He changes his crucifixion into forgiveness.

This plea to the Father for those who are crucifying him is, first and foremost, a sublime gesture of compassion and of trust in God’s unfathomable forgiveness.  This is Jesus’ great legacy to humanity: Never lose your trust in God.  His mercy is endless.

Mark picks up the dramatic cry of the Crucified: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  These words uttered in the midst of loneliness and total abandonment, are overwhelmingly sincere.  Jesus feels that his beloved Father is abandoning him.  Why?  Jesus complains of his silence.  Where is he? Why does he keep quiet?

This cry of Jesus, identical to that of all the victims in history and which asks God to give some explanation for so much injustice, abandonment and suffering, remains on the lips of the Crucified who demands from God an answer beyond death:  our God, why do you forsake us?  Are you not going to respond ever to the cries and moans of the innocent?

Luke records Jesus’ one last word.  Despite his mortal anguish, Jesus continues to trust the Father until the end.  His words are just a whisper now:  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  Nothing or nobody has been able to separate him from the Father. The Father has been animating his whole life with his spirit.  His mission completed, Jesus leaves everything in his hands.  The Father will break his silence and will raise him up.

This Holy Week, we will celebrate in our Christian communities the Passion and Death of the Lord.  We can also meditate in silence before the crucified Jesus, delving into the words he himself uttered during his agony.

José Antonio Pagola

March 24, 2013
Palm Sunday (C)
Luke 22:14 – 23:56