I Am Thirsty
GOOD FRIDAY
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the 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. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
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I imagine that in some way Jesus’ dying words about being thirsty is a reality that is still present in the world, present in all those who have need, in all those who thirst physically and spiritually. The Scriptures declare that “God made him who had no sin to become sin for us.” In this radical act of God identifying with fallen humanity, in those moments when Jesus hung on the Cross bearing our sins, it would not be far fetched to say that he tasted the collective thirst that blights all of us who live in want for God’s presence in our lives.
Given the death of the Lord of Glory that is commemorated on Good Friday it is certainly understandable why dubbing it “good” seems such a misnomer. And yet, when I consider that through the cross Jesus has identified with my deepest need, that he is somehow present to me even in sin, I am prompted to declare that Friday is indeed good, for God is with us even as we thirst for him.
