The seventh Word "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23, 46)
By: Nancy Escalante
Jesus Christ had completely fulfilled His Father’s wishes and commission and after doing so, He said: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23, 46) showing us how much He trusted His Father’s omnipotence and wisdom. How many times do we really abandon ourselves in God’s hands, fully trusting His omnipotence, His wisdom and letting His will be done?
Jesus is a living testimony of confidence and faith in God and He teaches us to pray in desperate moments when we think that we cannot carry our heavy cross anymore. God always listens to our prayers, but Jesus Christ invites us to get closer to our Father with total faith, which means to abandon our spirit in His hands, letting His will be done.
Jesus said: "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work”. (John 4, 34). “Because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”. (John 6, 38). And again: “The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him” (John 8, 29).
Though it is true that doing our Father’s will is not always an easy way full of joy, on the contrary, doing our Father’s will is not an easy task and it turns out to be a narrow way full of difficulties. A good example of this is what Jesus lived, not only on the Cross, but during all the time He spent among us performing His Father’s will.
With the example of his life, Jesus Christ invites us to trust His Father’s infinite mercy and goodness, He invites us to have faith and hope that, no matter how painful it is to carry our cross, if we perform our Father’s will, we ensure the glory and that all our tears will be fertile.
How can we not follow Jesus Christ testimony? Jesus Christ laid down His life for us; He let His blood pour out so that we reached salvation. Jesus Christ himself, Son of God, trusted His Father. If we are also His children, why don’t we trust in His infinite omnipotence, love and mercy? Christ, as a great Teacher, asks us to live virtues by imitating Him. With this passage, Jesus is inviting us to live obedience, to trust and to have hope and faith in Our Father.
