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The
Gospel writers record seven “last words” of Jesus from the Cross.
Matthew and Mark both record just a single “word,” and it is the
same in both accounts: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Luke and John both record three “words” apiece. Our focus is just
a single verse from each passage, the last word from the Cross as recorded
by Luke and John.
The
final word of Christ as recorded in Luke and John makes it clear that, despite
appearances to the contrary, Christ has been in control. These words are not
in contradiction to the anguished cry of abandonment voiced in Matthew and
Mark; they are simply viewing (hearing) the same situation from another perspective.
Regardless of the anguish Jesus sensed and voiced in the first two Gospels,
events had not spiraled horribly out of control. This was suffering that Jesus
had accepted, chosen, and embraced. His cry of “It is finished”
(John 19:30) can be heard as a triumphal shout of “mission accomplished.”
The mission that began when the “Word became flesh,” when God
sent His Son into the world “to save the world through him,” has
been fulfilled.
The
tone of Luke’s account is very serene when it comes to the very last
words. In contrast to the turmoil afoot in the land—the sun stopped
shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two—Jesus “hands
over” His life to the Father. Paradoxically, Jesus dies a brutal, peaceful
death.
Speaking
about death may be one of the final taboos in our North American culture.
While many cultures continue in practices and rituals that make death a natural
part of the “life cycle,” our culture frequently tries to create
a clinical detachment from death. As Robert Fulghum comments on death in America,
“Eighty percent of us die in a hospital. If we die elsewhere, 911 is
called, and the police, fire department, ambulance company, emergency rooms,
funeral home, lawyers, courts, insurance companies, accountants, church and
ministers, cemeteries, and several government agencies become involved. .
. . Instead of a normal part of life, death is treated as an unexpected emergency,
something that happens when the medical community fails.”1 If Christ
has truly conquered death, it should not be treated with fear and trepidation
by the Church. These two passages open the door and allow us to broach the
subject. Facing the death of Christ allows us to face our own death.
Great
numbers of scripture passages exhort us to trust in God, not to fear, to depend
upon His faithfulness even in the face of death. These two passages highlight
the fact that God incarnate lived that out. Jesus died as He lived, dependent
upon the Father, into whose hands He committed His spirit at death. In the
person of Jesus Christ, God has shown us both how to live and how to die.
All
through the season of Lent we have been called in various ways to pattern
our lives after the life of Christ. Now we are faced with a slightly different
choice. Will we who have committed ourselves to living as Christ lived be
able to die as He died? Will we be able to die unafraid? Will we be able to
die knowing His purposes have been fulfilled in our lives?
(For
the full manuscript of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click
on “Sermons”)
While
there are times when it may be appropriate to center on the brutality of the
crucifixion and the agony Jesus endured, that is not the focus of a sermon
drawn from the two “last words” of Christ from Luke and John.
Neither will this be a sermon that focuses on theories of the atonement. It
is simply a hearing of the final words of our Savior, words which emphasize
a calmness of spirit in the face of death.
While
the death of Christ was certainly much more than a “typical” death,
it was just as certainly not any less than a typical death. That is to say,
all of the emotions, questions, and drama of any death were wrapped up in
the death of Christ.
In
crafting a sermon, it may be better to focus less on “response”
and more on “reflection.” When the topic is death, a “to
do list” hardly seems an appropriate place to end. The sermon, then,
may be more effective if it is written in a reflective mode. Facing death
becomes a way to reflect on the life we are living. Will our choices about
life bring us to the desired end? This approach may frustrate task-oriented
folks who want to leave with “action items.” But in a culture
that frequently avoids the topic of death, just beginning the conversation
and reflection is great progress.
1. Robert Fulghum, From Beginnng to End: The Rituals of Our Lives
(New York: Villard Books, 1995), pp. 201-202.