Meditation on the First of the Seven Last Words of Christ

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Meditation on the First of the Seven Last Words of Christ
Ecumenical Service for Good Friday
April 10, 2009

Listen to this sermon.

Father in heaven, open our hearts this day to understand the meaning of your Holy Word. Help us to bring the message that you have for us this day into our hearts so that we may experience renewal of life. We pray this in the name of your Son who died for us this day. Amen

Luke 23:33-34 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

According to Luke these are very first words spoken by Christ from the cross. At the very moment when the pain of the nails in his wrists and feet was surging though his body and the death process was beginning Jesus turned to prayer. Jesus did this because of the many hours he had spent in prayer alone on a mountainside, with his disciples, and the night before in a garden. Jesus had conditioned himself to pray whenever he faced exhaustion or temptation. So turning to prayer at this moment was a natural thing to do. That is why it is so important for us to pray as often as we can. At Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church we pray right here in this sanctuary every morning at 6AM. We pray every day because this conditions us to prayer so that when the trials of life befall us we know where to turn. We just take it to the Lord in prayer.

As Jesus prayed he was aware of the relationship that he had with God. He called God, “Father”. Jesus knew that he was the son of God. This awareness came from his time in prayer, Bible study and worship. In the same way we develop a relationship with God through regular prayer, study of scripture, and attendance on Sundays in worship. These activities bring us closer to God, and we begin to realize that through Jesus Christ we become children of God. Remember that when Jesus taught us how to pray he invited us to join him in saying “Our Father”.

Aware of his own power and authority as the son of God, Jesus could have prayed for reduction of pain, but he did not. He could have prayed for an end to the crucifixion, but he did not. He could have prayed that lightning would zap his oppressors or that Angelic Special Forces would rescue him, but he did not. What Jesus did pray was that God would forgive his oppressors. At the moment of his greatest pain Jesus still cared for those who tormented him. This is really good news for us because it shows us the character of Jesus. We believe that Christ is in heaven right now interceding on our behalf; pleading with God to forgive us, and having endured the punishment that we deserve, Jesus’ plea for forgiveness of our sins is heard by God.

That we are sinners is a certainty. We have all sinned since childhood and we continue to do so today. Sin is a stain on our lives that just won’t go away no matter hard we try. It is so much a part of us we don’t even realize that it is there. We go about our lives confident that we are doing everything right, but ignorant that we are displeasing God with our actions and inactions. So we need something beyond ourselves to remove the stain of sin. And that is exactly what Jesus is asking God to do.

Of course as we engage in prayer, attend worship and study scripture we are becoming less and less ignorant of the sin in our lives. So for us it is time to repent, change our ways and attempt to live lives pleasing to God. We do this not because we have to, but because we are so grateful that God has forgiven our sins at the request of Jesus.

So the very first words that Jesus spoke on the cross are words of love and compassion for us. Jesus has invited us to join him in a relationship with the Father. He has asked God to remove the sin in which we are trapped without even knowing about it. And now in gratitude for this amazing blessing of God’s grace let us amend our lives and live as children of God. Amen.