XII. Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus died. The powers of death crushed him. Not only the fear-ridden judgments of Pilate, the torture by the Roman soldiers, and the cruel crucifixion, but also the powers and principalities of this world. The world’s death powers destroyed him.. . . Jesus was crushed by the powers of death, but his death removed death’s sting. To those who believe in him he gave the power to become children of God, that is, to participate in the life where death can no longer reach. By his death, Jesus was victorious over all the powers of death. The darkness in our hearts that makes us surrender to the power of death, the darkness in our society that makes us victims of violence, war, and destruction, has been dispelled by the light that shines forth from the One who gave his life as a complete gift to the God of life. Paul says: Our Savior Christ…has abolished death and he has brought to light immortality and life through the Gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10).. . . Every moment there is a choice to be made: the choice for or against life.. . . There is a place in us where we can choose a direction and stop the forces of death from pulling us deeper and deeper into the pit of darkness.
Excerpt from Henri Nouwen’s Walk With Jesus, Orbis Books. Posted with the kind permission of the publisher.
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March 16th, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Sharon your comments are very timely. Just being present with someone can be such comfort. Certainly the eyes can be the window to the soul; but I always talk and act as though the individual in the bed can hear -(even if their eyes are distant) It may be distorted how they hear but if we can speak slowly and not bombard them with converstaion, I think they pick up on our tone of voice etc if not the words. Care and comfort and the love of Jesus can come through as reassurance that they are not alone.
March 15th, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
This meditation is causing me much reflection. Yesterday Pastor and I visited a woman who is on a ventilator and a feeding tube. She looked at us as we shared scripture and prayed but she hasn’t talked for years. We don’t know if she is dying or not. I suppose any of us could be with anyone who is dying to self, dying to self-centeredness or self-absorption at any time during our lives. We could be the ones dying to self-centeredness or self-absorption–others being with us. Dying alone as Henri Nouwen writes is disturbing to me. I think of the criminal/thief/malefactor on the cross next to Jesus. They were with each other. When Jesus died before him, I like to think that Jesus was still right with him on through his own process of physically dying. That he was never alone up on his cross like that. Our friend on a ventilator and a feeding tube is sharing her room with another on a ventilator. It gives a lot of comfort to know neither of those women are ever alone in that room. This Station of the Cross has been with me now and I continue to reflect upon it. Thank you for presenting it to us.
March 15th, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
Alot of what I am reading is too metaphoric for me. What I see about Holy Week is that Jesus, because of his relationship with His Father, refused to bear arms because this would break His connection with God. Even though He begged God to save him from this, He held onto this relationship even though He did not know what was to happen moment to moment. Each drop of blood was proof of His unwaivering committment to that relationship. “..But for those who wait upon the Lord, He will renew their strength…….and He will raise them up.” And HE did. Thanks for listening
March 14th, 2008 @ 3:51 pm
Christ’s death removed death’s sting. He conquered death. Nouwen calls us – challenges us – to live in the light of that victory. How do we honor that victory? How do we choose life over death? Do we choose to die to our own thoughts about an enemy and choose to think of that person in a life-giving, accepting, loving way? It is Jesus death that frees us from the sin of self-centeredness and makes us alive to be the beloved of God and free to share His love in a death driven world. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21) How have you shared that life with a dying person today?