Greetings:
There is much meaning in the Christian observance of Holy Week, no matter what denomination you follow.
Today, Holy Saturday, is a day of waiting. We are waiting for Christ's promised and prophesied resurrection from the dead.
We know it is coming tomorrow on Easter Sunday, but step back for a moment in history and try to view things from a the perspective of those who actually knew Jesus face to face and followed his ministry.
They had just witnessed his horrible torture and death on the cross. Jesus died in a terrible humbling manner.
His relatives, friends and followers had to be grief-stricken, shocked and bewildered.
What were they going to do now?
They would have been wise to remember Christ's seven final statements or the last words he painfully uttered as his human life was being sucked from his body. There is a deep message for all of us to understand.
I attended a community Good Friday service last night that focused on Jesus' last words. The words made me think and feel incredibly blessed.
*Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.*Luke 23:43: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
*John 19:26–27: Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
*Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34: My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
*John 19:28: I thirst.
*John 19:30: It is finished.
*Luke 23:46: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
Traditionally among theologians, these seven
final word statements from Christ represent forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph and reunion. Think about the meaning of each of these in our lives as Christians. They form the basis of our belief, our faith and our hope.
As we wait to commemorate the resurrection of Christ tomorrow, on Easter Sunday, let me say that the death and the resurrection of Jesus leaves no doubt that Christ was divine.
The Resurrection leaves no doubt that Christ has the power to forgive sin and wash us clean through his mercy, grace and love.
One cannot deny that Jesus Christ shook the world on Resurrection Day - even among those who did not believe. His life and death dramatically shaped the course of history in his time, in our time and for generations to come.
Be blessed.
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