After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:28-30

I had a strange dream. By default, all dreams are odd. Even if we dreamed about doing something simple and plain like eating potato soup, it would be considered bizarre to dream about such a mundane thing. At any rate, mine was pertinent to my situation at that time. However, I mistakenly thought that it was restricted to that moment. I was in a car and before I could turn on the ignition key, I noticed that the glove compartment was broken. I tried to fix it and then I heard a loud crack coming from my seat. I tried to open the door to see what was wrong with the seat from the outside. Unfortunately, the door handle broke. Each time I tried to resolve something another problem came up. Eventually everything was started falling apart and I woke up and realized that it was the reality of the situation I was living. It was too broken to be fixed. I thought that the solution was to abandon everything and move to another place which I did. It did not take long for me to realize that the broken car was waiting for me in the other place, too.

The disciples watched as their hopes and dreams were being slowly ripped away from them. Finally, they found a leader in Jesus who understood the struggles and language of the everyday simple folks. He was truly the Good Shepherd who the people had yearned for and needed. He did not speak to them from a powerful position. He was one of them. Most importantly, He wasn’t a mere revolutionary idealist. He had the power to turn water into wine. They knew that if anyone could fix this world, it was this Man. Then, everything fell apart. The world was too broken to be fixed. The very people whom Jesus loved and healed put Him on the Cross. The religious authorities who were supposed to prepare the people for His coming were instrumental in his demise. The civil authorities which were supposed to maintain Law and Order sanctioned this grave act of injustice and provided all the necessary means to execute it. The disciples stood there in despair thinking that there is nothing to be done anymore. They were right. It was a hopeless situation. Their Only Hope hung on the Cross and gave up His spirit. The world is too broken to be fixed. There is no refuge from this devastating situation. We cannot flee from it. We cannot succumb to the temptations of the idealist and say that we can build a better world, a utopia in this world. If Jesus could not do it, then no one can. We cannot succumb to temptation of the realist and throw up our arms and say, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Jesus was a realist. He knew exactly that all this was going to lead Him to the Cross but He never gave in to despair despite knowing the situation was hopeless. Jesus had these last three words to say to us, “It is finished.” I read these words to our homeless teens once and one of them asked, “what is finished?” It is a good question. One which I had not pondered seriously until that moment. I have taken refuge in doctrinal interpretations in the past but they would not provide a satisfactory answer for our homeless children. If I said, “He paid for all our sins.”, they would have shrugged their shoulders and gone on with their lives like millions of people around the world who profess to be followers of our Lord. However, these words impacted a centurion who was a seasoned soldier accustomed to using violence to implement the will of the government. He confessed, “Truly this was God’s son.”

There was something powerful in His final words. They were not words of resignation but triumph, perhaps recognizable only to those grasped by the power and love of the Christ. These are the ones who understand the words of Jesus when He said,

“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:20-21

In these introductory words of the gospel, a profound truth is expressed which was manifested on the Cross. Truth is not a theory nor an idea nor a doctrine. It is something manifested in our daily and practical lives. If a so-called Truth is not doable or livable, then it is a lie. Jesus lived the Truth from the moment He was born. This alone qualifies Him to be recognized as the Christ. Otherwise, His claims about Himself can be considered as arrogant or bordering lunacy. However, the Light of the Truth shone so clearly through His life even the greatest enemy of the Church such as Nietzsche could only say admirable things about Jesus. However, there are many who want to follow a theoretical truth but continue to live their lives in practice in the darkness of the lies. For these, the final words of Jesus are meaningless. They might even try to reduce them to a doctrinal idea or some other insipid concept which bears minimal implication to their daily lives. However, there are those who would find hope in these words even when they find themselves in situations devoid of hope.

Recently, I listened to an activist who tirelessly fights for a very noble cause. Unfortunately, it was something which is hopeless in a sense. She is not religious by any means and therefore, she can not take refuge in the idea of the religious merits for her activities. However, unintentionally, she gave the most appropriate religious response for her reasons for persevering in her fight. She said that there is something within her which impels her to continue to live out the Truth. She could not do anything else than live in accordance to this Truth which has grasped her soul. She would have understood that the final words of Jesus were a triumphant cry of victory. Jesus overcame the temptations to succumb to the standards of the world. Beginning with the betrayal of Judas, then with Peter’s attempt to resist with the sword and being confronted with the lies and deceit of the religious authorities. Jesus did not at any given moment deny the Truth which impelled Him to be the Light of this world. On the Cross, He said the triumphant words, “It is finished!” These words are foolishness to those who live their lives in the ways of the darkness. However, for those who hunger and thirst after the Truth, they are words of power. They are words which prove to us that it is possible to live our lives to the fullest in a world prone to hopeless and despair. Jesus has paved the way. He has opened the doors to live a new life in this broken world. He has completed His task. He has given us an example. He has shown us that even in the darkest moment of our lives, Light will fulfill its given task. Nothing can stop Light from completing its task and pronouncing the final victory by saying, “It is Finished.”