Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 03/06/22 Last Words: The First Last Words

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

Homily from the First Sunday of Lent. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. The first last words of Jesus reveal not just what, but Who was on His mind in the last moments of His life. Mass Readings from March 06, 2022: Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Psalms 91:1-2, 10-15Romans 10:8-13 Luke 4:1-13

So last week we talked about last words and not last we talked about words and and how words disclose like words reveal what's in our hearts and so I've been thinking about this you know I mentioned it last week last Sunday that what we're going to do for the next seven masses together so starting this first Sunday of Lent and ending on Holy Thursday is we're going to be looking at last words and it's just so interesting because you know as words disclose our heart there's something about last words that are really unique. They're really special. I think a lot of times our last words are the ones that are remembered.

And you have last words that are powerful. So I think every American kid knows about Nathan Hale. Nathan Hale was only 21 years old on September 22, 1776, when he was part of the revolution and he died for his country. And as he was being killed, he was hung. He said this, 21 years old, he said, I only regret is that I have one life to lose for my country. One of those dramatic, powerful last words.

Another, Cicero, who's the Roman senator back in like 43 BC, at one point he was being assassinated. And he had this boldness as he was being assassinated. And he said to his assassin, there is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier. But do and try to kill me. Do try to kill me properly. It's like that sense. Nothing proper of what you're doing.

But do, try and kill me properly. You also have William Wallace from Braveheart. What's one word? I love the movie. It throws back. I don't know it's fiction based off a true story, but pretty fictionalized. That word freedom just he cries out as he's dying,

and it just is emblazoned in every man my age's heart in their mind because that last word sums up everything that those three men, Cicero, Nathan Hale, and William Wallace were passionate about what's in their hearts. Of course, sometimes last words are funny. There's a woman, her name was Dominique Borges. She was a French grammarian. Very interested in words.

And at one point, her last words were, I'm about to or I am going to die. Either expression is used. I just think that's the last thing she said. It's just very proper. Another Frenchman, Marie Antoinette, the French queen, as she was being led to the guillotine, she stepped on the executioner's foot. And her last words were, pardon me monsieur.

She said, I didn't mean to step on your foot, which is basically French for Ope in Minnesota, Wisconsin. Like if you get in someone's way, like, oh, you know, you get you, they run into you, just, oh, basically the same thing as Marie Antoinette, pardon, pardon, my mousseur. My siblings and I loved this movie back in the day, starring Val Kilmer. And Val Kilmer said this, he said, in the immortal words of Socrates, I drank what? Which I thought was hilarious because Socrates, he died because he drank Hamlock, poison,

and he didn't really say that, but Val Kilmer said that he said that, and I loved it. The last, kind of somewhat funny, is Karl Marx. His housekeeper came into his bedroom as he was dying and asked for his last words, like, for posterity. And he yelled at her and chased her out. And he said, last words are for fools who believe that they have not yet said enough. Which just adds to the list of the many things that I disagree with Carl Marks about. Because I believe that last words are incredibly important.

Why? Because they reveal what's in our hearts at the extreme. They reveal what's in our hearts at the thought. What we know is our last moment. And that's crazy thing is, obviously, sometimes we don't get the chance. We don't know. We didn't know this was going to be a last moment. And so sometimes those last words aren't uttered, or sometimes those last words aren't

there because we didn't realize this was my chance to say the last thing I could to this world, or even the last thing to say the people who mean the most. You know, I know a lot of us have people we've lost, and we lost that chance to say those last words to each other. Again, because we didn't know. We didn't know this was the end. In a lot of the cases, those words were there, but we didn't realize that this was the one opportunity we had to say them. Because sometimes people say their words for posterity.

Other times, people have their last words and they say them to someone. That their last words are not for the general public. Their words are for someone in particular. So at that one point, Percy Granger, he was an Australian company, hoser. And as he was dying, he turned to his wife Ella and he said, you're the only one that I like. That was great. Michael Landon, Michael Landon was a little house, he knew his paw and a little house in the prairie. Also, a highway to heaven. He was an angel. He was a deep man of Christian faith. And at one point, as he was dying, he was surrounded by his family. And his son said to him,

Dad, you can go now. It's okay. And Michael Landon looked in him, he said, you're right. It's time. I love you all. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, you know, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, he was in his garden beyond his home with his wife, and he just turned to her, and he simply said, you are wonderful. And then he put his hand over his heart and died.

There's a man named O.O. McIntyre, he was a reporter. He was only 53 when he died. But as he was dying, he turned to his wife, Maybel, and he said, he called her Snooks, and he said, Snooks, will you please turn this way? I like to look at your face. These words, as these people are dying, it's a couple last ones. John Wayne, he died at 72 years old, and he turned to his wife.

She had asked him, John, you know who I am? And he looked at her and he said, of course I know who you are. You're my girl. I love you. See, these moments, this extreme moment, the words that we say, these last words that we say, they capture or they can capture what's in the depth of our hearts, even if we don't even know that they're coming. So, Humphrey Bogart, that he was married to Lauren Bacall, and he didn't know he was going to die,

but she was going, she left the house to pick up their kids. And his parting words, his last words to her was, uh, goodbye, kid, hurry back. And he didn't, he didn't know, she didn't know. she didn't know that those were his last words. They still mean something, right? Why? Because they weren't words given for posterity's sake. There were words that were spoken to someone for a reason,

and they reveal something. Our hope, of course, is that our last words don't contradict our lives. Our hope is that our last words actually confirm the things that we've said earlier on in our lives. Why? Because our last words often expose our deepest concern. And so what we're doing, again, these next seven weeks, there are seven masses that we're going to be together.

is we're going to look at the seven last words of Jesus particularly. On the cross, Jesus uttered seven phrases. He said what are typically historically called, traditionally called, the seven last words of Jesus. And today we start with his first words. Actually, in the gospel, we actually start with Jesus' first words of his public ministry. Because if we're, I think we're going to understand Jesus' last words, we first have to understand his first words.

So what happens? In the gospel today, Luke's gospel, it says, after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And we asked the question, what's he doing in the wilderness? Well, he's fasting and he's praying and he's being tempted. But what is he doing in the wilderness? What he's doing in the wilderness is he's fighting.

He's in battle. This is absolutely critical for us to understand. What Jesus is doing in the wilderness is he is fighting. Why? How do we know this? Because when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, what happened? The Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove. He was anointed, right?

In that moment, God the Father says, you're my beloved son, with whom I'm well pleased. And Jesus is anointed. Now, that anointing doesn't just mean that he's approved of, doesn't just mean he has the Holy Spirit because he's God himself. That throughout Scripture, the one who gets anointed is a king. So King Saul was anointed, the king. David was anointed, the king.

Jesus was anointed a king. And so immediately after being anointed a king, what does he go to do? He goes out to fast and to pray and be tempted. What is he doing? he's fighting for his people. This is what a king does. Now, sometimes we think of kings these days and we think, well, the king is someone

who sits on their throne, has their scepter, eats olives, or not olives, they eat grapes. The grapes, the people personally peel for them. But back in the day, kings wouldn't be served. Kings were anointed to serve. Kings were anointed to go fight. So here is Jesus, who's anointed in the Jordan River. And immediately, that's exactly what he does.

He gets up, and he's led by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness to fight, to do battle. Why? Because the whole point of Jesus' life. The whole point of Jesus' life from the beginning is to rescue. The point of Jesus' life from the beginning is to fight for those who need to be fought for the most. And from the beginnings, this is crazy. What happens? From the beginning, Jesus is being tempted to abandon the fight. Why, Satan, the devil comes up and says,

pay attention to your hunger. Pay attention to your glory. Pay attention to your security, to your comfort. From the very beginning, Jesus is being tempted to abandon his mission. He's being tempted to abandon his fight because we know this. It's one thing to start. It is a whole other thing to stay. It's one thing to begin the fight.

It's another thing to end the fight. And that's why Jesus came. He came to fight for you. He came to fight for us. He came to seek and to save the loss. Jesus came to be a ransom for sinners. Jesus came to take away sin. And so here, and his last words,

on the cross, he's revealing that that's still his mission. I mean, think about this. Here is Jesus. He's been betrayed by everyone he's ever loved and trusted. He's been abandoned by everyone he's ever loved and trusted. He has been mocked. He has been scourged. He's been stripped naked.

He's crowned with thorns. And he's now been crucified on the cross. And in that moment, in the last round of this fighting, That thing that was Jesus' number one preoccupation at the beginning of his ministry is still his number one focus at the end of his ministry. Because Jesus' his first last words are, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing.

His first last words, at the extreme moment of his life, when most of us would be attempted to resentment, right? Most of us be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, most to be tempted to just kind of turn in, Jesus is not thinking of himself. What's he thinking of? And this is the crazy thing. Jesus is thinking of his two main preoccupations.

The two main preoccupations of Jesus during his whole life were the Father and you. Where the Father and every sinner who ever needed mercy. Jesus said, I came not to do my own will. I came to do my Father's will. By this is my Father glorified that I'm lifted up. Like Jesus, his preoccupation, his whole life

is the only reason I'm here is for my Father. And the other reason I'm here is for you. And then in this moment, Jesus reveals the depth of his heart, his first last words. Father, forgive them. Because Jesus, we know this, he didn't come to call the righteous. He came to call sinners. That with his last breaths, he is still calling. Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

So his last, his first last words disclose that there is no greater mission. There's no greater point in his life. And I think it's really remarkable to realize that this is a mission that he was tempted to abandon from the beginning. And in the same way, what is the evil one say in the wilderness? Leave one says, well, if you are the son of God, then satisfy your hunger. If you are the son of God, then let yourself be glorified. If you're the son of God, then find security. And on the cross, what happens?

On the cross, the crowd is saying, well, if you are the Christ, come down from there. One of the thieves on the cross is saying, well, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself and us. And that's the same battle that we face, right? The same battle that we face is the same battle that Jesus faced. Basically, like, that battle is, well, if God really loved you, then this won't be happening to you in the wilderness.

if you really are the Son of God, if you really is your father, this won't be happening to you on the cross. If you really are the Christ, this won't be happening to you. And how many of us, in the midst of our hunger, in the midst of our loss, in the midst of our grief, we have that same temptation, the same temptation to abandon the Father. Well, if God really loves you, then this wouldn't be happening to you. And so we're tempted to doubt God's goodness. We're tempted to doubt God's love. We're tempted to shrink back from the fight. And this is incredible because Jesus' first last word cuts through all of that.

Jesus' first last word is simply Father, Abba. And I think that if we just stopped here, it would be enough. Because Jesus from the very beginning has been tempted to abandon his mission. He's been attempted to abandon who he ultimately is. And with one word, he cuts through all of that by saying Father.

Again, Aba, and as you know this, you know that Abba is not overly formal. I'll say it like that. That Abba is an expression of Jesus' intimate relationship with his father. In other words, I've said this a thousand times, but years ago, I finally realized what it is when Jesus said, when you pray, say Abba. Because when I was a kid, it was like, well, Abba is like daddy.

And I'm like, I'm not saying daddy. Or there was this nun in Louisiana. She's like, well, she says, Papa. I'm like, I tried it and it didn't work, didn't fit. And I realize what Jesus was saying when he says, Aba, is he saying what I say when I say Aba, which is dad? So here's Jesus from the cross begging his dad. But also Jesus from the cross, his first, last word being dad.

And that word cutting through any kind of temptation to doubt in God's love or to tempt him to doubt in God's goodness. Because that relationship cuts through all of it. And this is what we're called to do, too. For us in the battle when we say, well, why would God let you do this? If you really cared about you, he wouldn't put you through this grief. If we really loved you, then you wouldn't be here.

That we get to do the same thing. That we get to use Jesus' first, last word, because of Jesus, we actually have God as our dad. And so my invitation for all of us is that we get to say in the midst of the temptation. And when we're fighting to be able to say, Dad, to actually use Jesus' first, last word for ourselves. And then to realize what Jesus says after this,

Dad, forgive them. Because what's most important comes out most clearly in the extreme moments. For Jesus, it wasn't himself. For Jesus, it was his father. For Jesus, it was Abba. For Jesus, the reality is he's doing all of this for a reason. I mean, just think about this is the last thing. For Jesus, he's doing all of this for a reason.

What's the reason? Because sin is the worst thing in the world. for all the grief and all the sorrow, all the suffering, all the death in this world, sin is still the worst thing in this world. And Jesus knew what he was doing, he knew why he was doing it, and he knew for whom he was doing it. He knew for whom he was dying. He knew the kind of people that he was fighting for.

He knew the kind of people that he was dying for. He knew the kind of people that he was begging for. And he said, Dad, forgive them. Jesus' first, last words. Dad, forgive them. If you think about this, just pause for a second. How important must this have been to Jesus? Jesus didn't just come to give us an example.

He didn't just come to show us the way. That Jesus came to save us. So at the end of his life, with his first, last word, what is Jesus revealing? Without these words, without this prayer, without this heart of Jesus, we would be lost. Absolutely lost. If it wasn't for what he was doing on the cross,

imagine, even now, even now he wants you. Even now, he fights for you. Even now he begs for you. Because it'd be really easy for him to say, well, I'm done. That's like I'm done thinking of you. I am done fighting for you. I'm done. Taking you back.

I'm done begging for you. But he doesn't say that. He says, dad, forgive them. He's not done. It's not over. And he is not saying these words for posterity. His first last words disclose the price of my sin. His first last words disclose the price of my soul.

The question is, can you accept that? Can you accept this love? Then on the cross, again, his words weren't for posterity. On the cross, his first last words were about you. that when he begged his father, dad, forgive them, his first, last words were about you, that these words reveal that you, you were the one who was on his heart.