I virtually attended a Maundy Thursday Mass last night and afterwards, when we pray and keep a vigil with Jesus I thought about all he had gone through for us that day. He had a last meal with his friends, the first eucharistic celebration, he knew he was going to be betrayed by one of them, denied by another, and he was aware of what an awful death he was about to face. Sitting in his prison, having been scourged nearly to death, ridiculed, spat at, his prayers to his Father must have been the one comfort he had at that time.
I know that he was human and divine, but when he died for us he must have died fully human as I can’t see how we could follow in the resurrection if he hadn’t made this way for us first. He needed to be the sacrificial lamb and could only do this without his divinity. When he is on the cross and prays ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Psalm 22), I believe this is Jesus at his most distant from his Father, going through everything as a man with his divine side completely separated. He feels totally in the dark and alienated and uses the words of this psalm to express how he feels.
This psalm has a positive end in that the psalmist places his trust in his God, knowing that all will be well as God will rescue him ultimately. Even as he died, Jesus was most concerned about saving us and when he says ‘it is done’, his mission is over and he trusts in his Father that he has achieved his purpose in all of this.
Jesus died with all of our sins weighing him down and still is happy to console us and help us with our sorrows now. He is the sacrificial lamb who has been sacrificed for all time. He went through so much for us and has never stopped loving us and sacrificing himself for us.
I always feel that there is nothing I can do to thank him enough for this. All he wants in return is our love and everything follows on from that. He died not only for those who would love him and thank him, but also for those who would turn their back on him and ridicule him. How amazing is our God.
God bless,
Widows Mote 