Selfless Sacrifice

Good Friday...a solemn day, fittingly, the Book of Lamentations is appropriate, for there is much to lament, and yet much over which to rejoice and give thanks.  We wail over the abandonment and destruction of Jerusalem, a wailing that applies to the death of Jesus...abandoned by all, save for his mother, Mary Magdalene and his beloved disciple John at the foot of his cross.  He cries out with the words of Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Ps 22 1). His mission, his three years of preaching and healing, of remaining faithful to his Father's will, end in apparent utter failure. The pain of the scourging, the betrayal, denial, and do not equal the pain of rejection and failure.  Truly, "he emptied himself" and had nothing more to give than to turn his spirit over to his Father:  the total selfless sacrifice.
There are times in our lives when we feel some of this...rejections from all colleges or medical schools to which we applied...the feeling of  "Now what, where?"  A similar loneliness and abandonment to what Jesus felt.  A call to unite with Jesus on the cross and turn our lives and futures completely over to the Father.  As clearly demonstrated by the Resurrection, this is only a passing phase leading to something better than we have ever planned or for which we have hoped.  Let us all, no matter what our circumstances, turn ourselves over to this loving Father and continue to trust in him and serve him.
 Almighty and eternal God, you have restored us to life by the triumphant death and resurrection of Christ. Continue this healing work within us. May we who participate in this mystery never cease to serve you. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.   Post Communion Prayer for Good Friday.