5th Reflection – I am
thirsty
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he
said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.”– John 19:28
I preach on one of the
shortest sayings of Jesus on the cross. It is the simplest and most needy thing
he says. It forms the basis of the mockery that passers by saw him as, while he
was dying. When we visit the dying, they are almost always thirsty.
It is very tempting for
us to shy away from the difficulty of today. We are tempted to gloss over the
suffering of Jesus, the absence of most of the disciples, and his death. We are
tempted to ignore these facts and jump to the amazingness of Jesus’
resurrection on Easter. We are tempted, but we cannot give into that
temptation. This is something that I struggle with every year because I don't
like to think of the pain he endured, so I am saying this as much to myself as
I am to all of you... today we must sit in this space which is visually bare
and scripturally painful before we can enjoy the great days that are to come.
At the time John’s gospel
was written, Christianity had become a distinct group within the
multi-religious context of the Roman Empire. Though not legally recognized,
Christianity was quickly growing in numbers. In the Hellenistic world in which
Christianity was born, some believed that Jesus had not really come in flesh
and blood, much less died a gruesome physical death on the cross. At that
time it was believed that flesh was of the evil realm, and could never be holy,
which is why philosophers of that time sought to transcend the earthly body and
reach towards the lofty aspirations of the spirit and knowledge. Only the
spirit was capable of the divine. In other words, they believed that
Jesus did not really die he only appeared to.
But that was not true. Jesus did die on the
cross and the theology of the Gospel of John seeks to defend this even at the
very beginning of the gospel in the scandal we call Christmas when John tells
us that the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Throughout John’s gospel
the dual nature of Christ, being both fully human and fully divine, is always
at the center of his message. Both of these natures are important components of
how Jesus saves us. By emphasizing God over man completely changes our
understanding of why and how the Word was incarnate through Jesus.
It is with his dual
nature in mind that we return our focus to the words of Jesus from the cross.
Darkness is closing in. Death is near.
With that thirst of his, he knows it is almost over. The heat of
the sun is sucking the moisture out of everything that is exposed to the bright
rays of light. The weight of his body has put a tremendous amount of
stress on his bones. As he tries to hold himself up to catch a breath of
air, unimaginable pain runs through his body pulsing from his wounds,
especially his feet as he tries to hold up his body. Every breath is a
challenge. His mouth is dry and his lips
are chapped. His thirst is so great, that of all of the needs he can name, it
is this one. 2000 years later, we hear in intimate detail how it felt for our
savior to die for us.
We should thirst for him today
because of his thirsting for us this day. We should thirst for justice and
peace. We should thirst for an end to suffering at the hands of others. We should
thirst for equality for all people regardless of who they are or how they live.
We should thirst to bring about the kingdom of heaven as best we can in the
here and now. These are what we should thirst for, but sometimes our humanity
gets the better of us and we instead thirst for honor, power, acceptance,
wealth, or material possessions.
I wish I could stand here and tell you I only ever thirst
righteous things, but often I thirst and desire acceptance. When I try to
quench my desire for acceptance, I change parts of myself to fit in with those
around me, and because of this, it can be hard for me to know who I truly am. I
know that I am not alone in wishing for righteousness but actually thirsting
for my own desires. And so I say to myself and to any who relate to me, we must
unceasingly pray to be thirsty for things from God.
Jesus’ statement about his thirst
also points to his determination to complete the will of God. He said these
words to strengthen himself and ease his throat so that he might cry out his
final words from the cross “with a loud voice.” He was summoning himself to
bring it all to completion. Jesus knew the journey he was undertaking with his
time among us. Throughout the narrative of Jesus’ life he knew his task and
stayed the course. There were times when he could have strayed from his task
and given it all up. He had the power to stop Judas, to escape his fate. While
Jesus experienced the human quality of doubt, he still stuck to the task and
walked the hard walk towards his death on the cross. His determination to do
what was necessary is an example that we can take for ourselves.
Our thirst will require us to make hard choices, to follow a
path that may lead us to be countercultural and divide us from our friends, our
families, and the wider society. We must have faith that by sticking to the
task presented to us we will be supported and filled with the strength and love
of God that will sustain us on our journey.
I am thirsty, are you?
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