The Seven Last Words of Christ

There is an old joke about a teacher who asked one of her students to name the four seasons, and he said, “Football, Basketball, Baseball and Hockey.” There is also a red-neck version in which the student answers, “Deer, quail, turkey and duck,” but that is another story.

     This week we are entering a new season in the life of the church. Most of us like Advent, Christmas, and Easter, but the season of Lent is usually not so popular. It is a season of somber introspection for the 40 days prior to Easter, a season when we recall our inclination to sin, and the things we have done that sent our Savior to the cross in the first place.

     As we think about the Passion of our Lord, and the events leading up to Good Friday, one of the themes that has resonated with Christians down through the centuries is The Seven Last Words of Christ, a recollection of the final utterances of our Lord from the cross of Calvary.

     On that desolate hillside so many years ago, a crowd gathered to see the gruesome sight and to hear the cries of pain and agony that would come from the pathetic figure nailed to the Roman Cross. But it was a surprise to them all when instead of a cry of anguish, there came a prayer of forgiveness when Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

     These words, spoken from the cross during the last hours of his earthly life, are particularly meaningful to Christians since they represent our Lord’s parting words to his people.

     One author wrote that “The Seven Last Words portray the terrible beauty and the rich and abundant meaning of those terse and deathless expressions that fell through that awful silence of Calvary to echo in men’s hearts down the ages.”

    Even a brief study of these words is a powerful experience.

    For the next five weeks, during the season of Lent, I am going to pick up this theme of the last words Jesus spoke before his death, words that are filled with meaning and purpose, and do a series of sermons on them. We will look at these words together and try to understand what Jesus meant when he said them, and what they mean for us, today.

      I hope you will make plans to join us for this special series of messages over the next few weeks. Lent is not always the most popular season of the church year, but having something to look forward to always makes things more interesting.