Thursday, April 13, 2017

Thursday, April 13 - Maundy Thursday


Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19: 28-29)

And so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said “I am thirsty.“

Jesus cried out, “I thirst,” and I hear Him beg for our tears, for our burdens, for our sadness. If we give Him our tears, trust Him with our pain, know that in His hands life will never be the same, our lives could be more joyful. Each day under His reign our tears quench our Lord’s thirst. When the soldiers tried to quench our Lord’s thirst, they gave him on a hyssop stalk a sponge soaked in a bitter wine, their bitterness. If our Lord wanted water He could have just asked the angels to give Him some rain, but I think He had something else in mind. The pain of crucifixion would have blotted out all feelings and thirst; if ever you have been in severe pain, all you can think about is “please let it stop.” So I think His words, “I thirst” were a directive for us. It was a message telling us He could be a sponge for all our tears. We can thirst for a lover’s kiss; we can hunger to see the estranged. To rise above His pain and send a message of love, that He was only thinking of us lowly mortals. It makes me think, only God could be so loving, so thoughtless of Himself. Hard to believe that we might be worthy of such love.

There is a road our Lord walked on 
Carrying His cross I see Him 
Seeing Him in my mind, a song
Of pain, agony, love so strong


As I watch the nailing
Jesus, my Lord there crucified 

I died a little myself and so 
For my Lord I cried

How many tears have I shed 
I offer them up to Him
Only God knows my pain
It helps to sing my hymn


“There is a green hill far away” 
And I pull down my walls
Do my tears quench His thirst 

When this is what I give, my all


Jane Williams 

No comments:

Post a Comment