Daily Meditation: Friday, March 25, 2005

Jesus on the cross - explanation of his last words

03/25/2005

The people who crucified Jesus addressed him, saying: ’If you are the true Son of God, come down from the cross.’ But the true power of a son of God does not lie in escaping ordeals or even in appearing not to fear them. True power lies in accepting them with clarity and selflessness, and above all in peace and unity of spirit. Jesus knew about the trials awaiting him and had announced them to his disciples. But the cruelty of the torture he endured on the cross awakened the dark forces of his purely human nature, and he cried out: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ In fact, God had not forsaken Jesus, but this feeling of abandonment, of solitude can be experienced even by the greatest initiates. The human nature in Jesus could not help but utter cries of distress, but he did so with love, without rebellion, and here lies all the difference. This is why in the end he regained light and peace, and spoke these last words: ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’