It is Accomplished

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Last night I attended a performance of St. John’s Passion by Johann S. Bach, an experience I will not soon forget. I was still ruminating about the passion narrative this morning as I awoke. In St. John’s version of the narrative, the last words of Jesus are "It is accomplished." It has been said that a person’s last words are an insight into his or her life. I believe that the last words which St. John places in Jesus’ mouth are an insight into what he hope to accomplish through his Gospel. 

What distinguishes St. John’s narrative from that of the other evangelists is that there is no sign whatsoever throughout the story that Jesus is not in control of the process. There is no sign of terror, no sign of agony, no sign of pain. Throughout the text, the evangelist makes sure that we see that Jesus is actually directing the others in their various roles. So when he says at the end, "It is accomplished," he is simply stating the fact that what he had come to do, he had in fact done. He has finished the task that the Father had given him. He had fulfilled his part in the act of redemption, and he had done so nobly and with determination.

Bach adds to meditative arias after Jesus utters these words. The first is particularly apt for CUSANS:

"It is accomplished! What comfort for all suffering souls! The night of sorrow now reaches its final hours. The hero from Judah triumphs in his might and brings the strife to an end. It is accomplished."

The second is also a powerful consideration of Jesus’ act of dying for us:

My beloved Savior, let me ask you, since you have now been nailed to the cross and you yourself have said: It is accomplished, have I been set free from death? Through your pain and death can I inherit the kingdom of heaven? Is this the redemption of the whole world? You can indeed not speak for anguish but you bow your head and silently say: yes.Jesus you were dead and now live for ever; in my final agony of death may I turn nowhere else but to you, who have redeemed me, O my dear Lord! Give me only what you have won, for more I could not wish!

I have a feeling that these words will fill my thoughts and prayers these next few days. Perhaps they can help you in your commemoration of the life-giving death of Jesus.