Death on a Friday Afternoon: "I Thirst!"
Jesus is the fountain of life!
Upon the cross the fountain thirsts.
For all who knelt at the cross that day, they thirsted for him just as he thirsted for all humanity.
Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
Jesus was offered a spong soaked in a vinegary weak wine and hyssop.
John 9:28-30
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Since the foundation of the world all these things would come together over time to lead to this moment.
So Jesus drank the dregs of bitter drink until the bitter end. For here we find the New Covenant in His blood. This is the eucharistic mandate. A mandate that requires the apostles to out into the world and teach them all that He has taught us.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We do not avoid but we participate in Christ's suffering, which includes our suffering and the suffering of th entire world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, " When Jesus calls a man, he calls him to come and die."
The derelict on the cross returned to His Father with a thief. Jesus did not live his human life in a half-way, casual fashion but in total fidelity to the Father unto death.
No Christian is without some wisdom, knowledge or faith. We are all called to be missionaries in our families and our neighborhoods. God then desired that all this took place in our world for the joy to come in spite of everything wrong in the world.
Let us therefore take our thirst for Christ and help satisfy the thirst of those around us!