By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Jr.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn.)
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Gazing upon the cross, and having participated in the dialogue of love between Jesus and the Father, we have arrived at the moment redemption is secured and humanity is released from the bonds of darkness and death. What was seen by many as a spectacle of crucifixion has been transformed into a phenomenon of “Divine Love.”
At the end of Jesus’ life, as He was hanging on the cross, the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Then “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46).
At this moment, Jesus was facing His imminent death, and He was experiencing the full weight of physical pain and emotional anguish. In His final words, He expresses His complete submission to God, acknowledging that His spirit belongs to God and entrusting it into God’s hands. The phrase also highlights the relationship between Jesus and God as Father and Son.
Jesus calls out to God as His Father, indicating the closeness and intimacy of their relationship. For Catholic Christians, the words of Jesus on the cross have great significance as a testament to His faith and His willingness to suffer and die for the salvation of humanity. The phrase “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” is often used as a prayer of surrender and trust in God in times of difficulty or uncertainty.
It is worthy to note the fact that, when Jesus said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” He was quoting Scripture, Psalm 31:5, to be exact. Earlier, Jesus had also quoted from Psalm 22:1 from the cross (Matt. 27:46). In everything Jesus did and said, He fulfilled the will of God and the word of God. Even in the throes of death, our Lord was fully aware of His mission and pointed those around Him to the fulfillment of prophecy.
Psalm 31 is a prayer of David in distress, full of trust in God, and in Luke 23, the Son of David echoes the same prayer:
POEM
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God
(Psalm 31:1-5).
END POEM
But Jesus’ words from the cross were not wholly didactic; they also expressed the true feeling of His heart. As centuries earlier David in his extremities had cried out to God, so does Jesus feel an acute and pressing need for help, and He turns to the “faithful God,” the only true source of aid. In the midst of all His trouble, Jesus’ spirit reaches upward for relief, with a strong confidence in the One who alone is a worthy refuge. Jesus prays, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” because it is only in the Father’s hands that our spirits are safe. In speaking of the security of believers, Jesus had taught, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).
We are in the habit of securing our most valuable earthly treasures in a safe or a bank vault, where we know no harm will come to them. From the cross, Jesus shows us that our most valuable of treasures — our spirits — should be committed for safekeeping into the Father’s hands.
The moment we are saved, we commit our spirits into the Father’s hands; we trust Him for our salvation. From then on, life is lived in a day-to-day commitment with our spirits into the Father’s hands. We commit our spirits to Him in our service to Him, in our daily decisions, and in all our joys and sorrows. And, when the time of our death comes, we follow Jesus’ example and say yet again, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
As St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being stoned to death, he prayed a modified form of Jesus’ prayer from the cross (Acts 7:59). Through the years, many other Christians have found comfort in Psalm 31 and
at the time of their death repeated Jesus’ words from the cross. Among those who said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” as they were leaving this world were St. Polycarp and Martin Luther.
In essence, the “Seven Last Words” spoken by Jesus on the cross are about the transforming power of suffering love. That’s important for us today, as we prepare to celebrate those final moments of Jesus and venerate the cross. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for us. Beaten, scorned, laughed at, ridiculed, tortured — He accepted it all out of love for us. He took upon Himself all our sins. He, the Lamb of God; He, the High Priest, willingly suffered to free us from the consequences of our own sins.
Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, is central in understanding the Christian notion of salvation. Jesus took away sin by absorbing and transforming it. How?
The image we can use to understand this is that of a water filter. A filter takes in impure water, holds the impurities inside of itself, and gives back only pure water. It transforms rather than transmits. We see this in Jesus.
Jesus is the ultimate cleansing filter which purifies life itself. He takes in hatred, holds it, transforms it, and gives back love. He takes in fear, holds it, transforms it, and gives back freedom. He takes in jealousy, holds it, transforms it, and gives back affirmation. He takes in Satan and murder, holds them, transforms them, and gives back love and forgiveness. By doing this, Jesus doesn’t want admirers, but imitators. He doesn’t want fans, but faithful followers.
The Hill of Calvary invites us, every one of us, to help absorb, purify, and transform tension and sin rather than simply transmit them. Such is the love of God, revealed in Jesus’ suffering on the cross.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is a good example of this kind of suffering faithful love. She stands at the foot of the cross, not giving in to despair, not trying frantically to stop the execution of her innocent Son, but rather, just being there, taking it all in, holding it, pondering it, believing, and trusting that somehow, God would turn even this parody of justice into something positive, and we know that God did. The Hill of Calvary and the Cross invite us to be like Mary, to transform evil into hope and forgiveness.
The New Wine Of Salvation
That unconditional love of Jesus on the cross is the foundation for the sacraments of the Church. His suffering is the source of eternal salvation for us. His Body, broken on the cross; His Blood, shed for us on the cross, becomes for us the bread of life and the new wine of salvation in the Eucharist. The water that poured forth from His side becomes for us the font of Baptism that joins us to Him and opens for us the way into His Kingdom even now, in this life.
As we continue to celebrate Lent and prepare for the Sacred Triduum, let us pray that we may be strong and faithful, believing in the power and depth of God’s love for us, and that we may respond to that love learning to truly love each other from the heart, through loving relationships and humble service.
We adore you O Christ, and we praise you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!
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