Bishop Eric Menees
“Father, into your hands I
commit my spirit.”
Today
is Maundy Thursday. On this night some two thousand years ago, our Lord washed
the feet of his disciples, instituted the Lord’s Supper, and was arrested.
These events lead off the whole process of his faux trial and shameful
crucifixion - ending with these words uttered by our Lord: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
Jesus’
familiarity with Holy Scripture is evident in his Seven Last Words. For the
second time, Jesus had quoted the Psalms. The first time was when he said, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” - “My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) The second
quote - this Final Word from Psalm 31:5 - comes as Jesus breathes his last,
surrendering his life for you and me.
With
these words Jesus is simply saying: “Abba, I’m done. I’ve done all that I
can and I place these past 33 years into your hands along with all of my
eternity.”
In his
Last Words, Jesus demonstrates for us what God desires for all of us: that we
surrender our whole lives to Him – past, present, and future.
As we
prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, isn’t that the proper
response to eternal life – complete surrender?
Of
course, that is easier said than done, and it requires us to be intentional
every day. The discipline of praying the offices assists us in this
endeavor – waking up with prayer and scripture reading, and going to bed with
prayer, scripture, and self-examination. What a wonderful response to Jesus’
resurrection - to intentionally spend time with him every day.
I pray
you all a truly blessed Holy Week along with a heavenly Easter Celebration!
Catechism Questions 94 - 96
94. Why is the
Church called “holy?”
The Church is holy because the
Holy Spirit dwells in it and sanctifies its members, setting them apart to God
in Christ, and calling them to moral and spiritual holiness of life.
95. Why is the
Church called “catholic?”
The term “catholic” means
“according to the whole.” The Church is called “catholic” because it holds the
whole faith once for all delivered to the saints, and maintains continuity with
the apostolic Church throughout time and space.
96. Why is the
Church called “apostolic”?
An apostle is one who is sent. The
Church is called apostolic because we hold the faith of Christ’s first
Apostles; because we are in continuity with them; and because we, like them,
are sent by Christ to proclaim the Gospel and to make disciples throughout the
whole world. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 9:1-6)
No comments:
Post a Comment