Good Friday 2021: When All is Said and Done, Jesus Thirsts

It's fascinating to compare the passion accounts of St. John to the synoptic Gospel writers. While the main story is the same, the emphasis is quite different. The synoptic gospels spare no details of the brutal sufferings that Jesus experienced during his passion: psychological, physical, even spiritual. But John presents almost none of that. In his passion he depicts Jesus as a totally free man who is in control of his destiny and who allows everything to happen to him with knowledge, freedom, and choice. We see no weakness nor hear any cry or complaint until after the Scriptures had been fulfilled, when, just before breathing his last, he finally admits, "I thirst." For water or wine? No. Jesus thirsts for the only thing that He doesn't control -- which is how you and I respond to his gift of love. In response to his love, he thirsts for our love. Will we quench his thirst?