Fifth Word; I thirst!

Good afternoon brothers and sisters in Christ. I am tasked to tackle the 5th out of the seven

last words of Jesus. This can be found in the verse of John 19:28 which reads: “Later

knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,

I am thirsty”. We will be focusing more on the last word of Jesus saying “I am thirsty” rather

than the entire verse. So it’s three simple words but it has a deeper meaning than one

would actually think about. So i have three major points for this message today.

First Point: Jesus died on the cross, human.

I am thirsty was the most human out of the seven last words that Jesus uttered. Why so?

Una sa lahat, meron tatlong basic needs ang isang human. That would be, food, shelther,

clothing. And out of those three san nagfa-fall under ang water? That would be under food.

So, the fact that Jesus had needs, na He was thirsty, He needed water or anything that

would quench his thirst, proved that He had a need. That He was human. That hanging on

the cross, sa tapat ng init, ng araw, nakatirik pa iyong araw or minsan sobrang lamig sa gabi,

He would be thirsty. And He admitted to that. And that He was in need. So ano ang point ng

pagiging human ni Jesus sa cross na iyon. Ok sure, He is human but what of it right? So the

reason would be: Firstly, to make it more relatable to us. What human would die on the

cross for us? Aside from Jesus. If i were to ask you would you die on the cross for your

friend, papako ka, pahihirapan ka, would you do it? It just shows that as a human, Jesus also

felt the love that we feel for each other. For our family, for our friends and He managed to
turn that love into something more unique, more pure, moreso that He will die for us no

matter what cost that it fell to Him. Na kahit na masaktan siya, mahirapan, mauhaw, He

would do it for us. His sacrifice was made in flesh and thus it was more painful for Him. Kasi

If He was God, and died on the cross then what would that nail do? To him. So dapat hindi

siya masasaktan, dapat wala lang sa kanya, chill lng siya dun. But then, He died there on the

cross as a human, it was painful. He felt every pain that you could imagine, and that you

couldn’t imagine din. And all the more was the resurreccion powerful. Because He died

human and was resurrected. That’s impossible but that just shows of our God.

Second Point: Maybe we are thirsty, too.

Imagine this, sobrang init, nakatirik ang araw parang ngayon lng diba? Tapos may dadaan na

may Coca-Cola o kaya Mineral water. Hindi ba parang bigla mo maiisip sa sarili mo na, “Ay

uhaw din pala ako. Gusto ko din pala nun”. So bibili ka ng Coke mo, bili ka ng Mineral water

o kaya humingi dun sa taong dumaan kung kakilala mo di ba? So minsan nare-realize lng

natin na may needs tayo, na need natin un, kunwari thirsty tayo pala kung nakita natin iyong

isang tao na ina-admit or nire-recognize din na thirsty din siya. So maybe, what Jesus was

trying to say was “I am thirsty” kaya baka pinarerecognize sa akin/atin na thirsty din pala

tayo. But what are we thirty for? In the Chapter of John 4, Jesus talks to a woman sa well.

And He proceeds to tell her that He is thirsty. And in the verse of 14, John 4:14 “..but

whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will

become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”. So what are we thirsty for? So

of course we know the answer, that would be Jesus. That would be the eternal life that

Jesus gives. Sometimes, actually the moment we were created. we were already placed a
God-sized hole in our heart, maliit lang. Pero indefinite siya. Siya iyong tipo na kahit punuin

mo siya ng material objects, damit, sapatos, lovelife kung minsan, o kaya pera, fortune,

power, popularity parang wala pa din. Parang hindi nasasagot iyong gusto mong masagot.

Parang hindi ka pa rin kumpleto. And that is when it comes to you that there is something

you need that this world cannot give you. And that is Jesus. You can be sad, angry,

depressed, but then maybe what you really need is someone just to be there for you. You

know, you need a healer, a friend, you need a Saviour and in whatever you need Jesus will

meet you there. And that’s what you need to remember. So maybe, what you are thirsty

for.. is Jesus or whatever He can meet you at. On whatever He means to you, and that’s

what we are thirsty for, that’s what we need. And to quench our thirst, we know the

answer.

So, we talked about Jesus’ thirst, our thirst, so let’s now talk about quenching that thirst.

Now i move on to the:

Third Point: What an honor it is to quench the thirst of Jesus.

But what does Jesus thirsts for? When Jesus was hanging on the cross, nandun siya,

nakapako, sinabi niya “I am thirsty”. And when He said that, there was a soldier who put

wine vinegar sa isang sponge tas tinaas niya dun kay Jesus tas pinahid sa lips niya iyong

sponge. And dun nakainom si Jesus. If you were there on the cross, what would it feel like to

watch Jesus slowly dying for you? If He said “I am thirsty” would you do what it takes to give

it to Him whatever He needs. Well, we are not there. Truthfully, we are not there anymore

to see Jesus in real life. But there are other ways to quench His thirst. And i will be telling

you how we can quench His thirst in the little things we do. Firstly, i would like to base this
point on Matthew 25:34-40. “Then the King will say to those on his right. Come you who are

blessed by my Father, inherit whatever the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation

of the world. For i was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I

was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you

visited me. I am in prison and you came to me”. But then the righteous said to Jesus kelan

nangyari yun? Kelan ka nagutom? Nauhaw? Nasa prison? Kelan ka maysakit? Kelan ka

naging stranger sa amin? Kung hindi namin naalala yun kelan ka namin binigyan nung mga

pangangailangan mo na yun? And this is the most important thing that Jesus said that

sometimes we often overlooked. We see that Jesus was also talking to us in relation to the

people around us. Sabi niya in Matthew 25:40 “I am telling the solemn truth, whenever you

did one of these things to someone overlooked, or ignored, that was me, you did it to me”.

I particularly liked this version of the Bible, the message because sa ibang version sinasabi

nila brothers and sisters, which we all are naman, regardless of faith, regardless of what you

believe in, what you’ve done, your past, we are accepting. We are overlooking all those

flaws, because we know that your relationship is what matters the most. But then, this

particular message, eto na type ng translation, parang mas simplified pa nya. Rather than

just brothers and sisters sinabi niya lahat ng overlooked and ignored. Lahat ng gutom, uhaw,

lahat ng stranger sa iyo, lahat ng maysakit, lahat ng nasa kulungan, lahat ng marginalized,

lahat ng poor, lahat ng naghihirap lalo na sa panahon ngayon ng Pandemic, lahat ng iyon na

hindi tinitignan, ng lahat ng hindi pinapansin, iyon yung sinasabi ni Jesus na dapat natin

pakainin, painumin, pansinin, to care for. And that was our duty as Catholics. To check on

ourselves, are we ok with Jesus? To check on our family, to show Jesus, to center Jesus on

our relationships. To check on our friends, but most importantly to quench his thirst for

justice, to quench the Lord, we have to look at the Lord in the face of the people we dont
know. The people that are suffering. Ngayon na ito sobrang hurap kasi may Corona Virus,

people are suffering. People dont have work, dont have means to pay bills, dont have food.

People are suffering because they are thinking about their families and how they can

provide for their family. People are suffering because they might have the sickness but they

are not tested as prioritized as you know the people in power. These are the people that we

ought to look at. Syempre ngayon na quarantine, we have to check are we ok emotionally,

spiritually, mentally. We have to check on our family, do we have stocks, can we provide,

are we in good relationship with them now that we need to stay in this confined space

together. But then after that, what more can you do? Where is the Jesus that you were

looking for? SI Jesus kasi comes in the most unexpected places and sometimes we overlook

that the unexpected place is the face, is the life of every person that was ignored. People in

the streets baka hindi rin nila alam kung ano nangyayari, baka hindi din pa rin nila alam na

may Corona virus pala at all. Wala silang masks, wala silang alcohol, the sleep outside and

it’s quarantine. How do you expect them to get by? Kung ikaw nahihirapan na, what more

for them? And i am not undermining with your suffering, what i am saying is, after you have

checked yourself, your family and the people who are close to you, what more can you do?

Is there Jesus in everything you do? When do you think about him? Do you only do things

when you think about him or do you always do things regardless of whether, o this is Jesus

so i must serve him. Sometimes we dont have to think about it, it must come naturally to us

as Catholics, to help those in need. And i am not saying or forcing you to do it, but in the

little things we can have, we can pray for them. But then if we have the means, we can also

address their needs concretely such as by providing donations, by giving food to them like

whenever we meet someone sa street, in the little things we can help out. And i think that’s

what matters the most. And i would just like to share the one movie i watched, ansabi ng
isang homeless guy, kung pinapakain mo iyong isang taong walang bahay, walang pagkain,

walang pera, walang kamag-anak, what do you think you’re doing? Sabi nung person na

tinanong “i think i am helping”. And in reply sabi nung homeless guy, “No because we are

still homeless at the end of the day. You know what you are doing? You are giving us

attention”. Sometimes kasi sanay na silang ino-overlook, sanay na silang hindj pinapansin

that’s why pag tinutulungan mo sila hindi nila iniisip iyon as tulong. Iniisip nila we still exists

pala. People can still see us, because sometimes, society just overlooks those that does not

fit the standards. And during this time, inclusive dapat tayo. This is the call to be

compassionate Catholics. If Jesus was there outside right now, and He said “I am thirsty” ,

lahat tayo magkakagulo na painumin siya di ba? Bakit ngayon hindi tayo nagkakagulong

tumulong sa mga nangangailangan, sa mga taong nagsasabing “I am thirsty”. So, this is an

uplifting message, i am encouraging you to help as much as you can and in your own time, in

your own pace, find Jesus in everything but most especially find Jesus in the faces of the

overlooked, of the marginalized, of the poor and of course of those that society had chosen

to ignore. Let me then end this with a prayer, We thank you Lord God sa patuloy na

paggabay ninyo sa amin, eapecially in this trying times. Sana po in as much as we care for

ourselves, for our family, pur friends and our loved ones, we seek to quench your thirst Lord

God by doing justice in this world, by holding those in power accountable, by providing to

those in need and by seeing your face sa lahat ng taong hindi nakikita ng society na ito.

Most of all, we hope to realize that you were human, and your suffering, your sacrifice on

the cross was very powerful and was very significant for our salvation and redemption.

Another thing Lord God, is that we hope to see you and recognize our own thirst for you.

And in recognizing that thirst, we recognize that we want to serve you in whatever way we

can. All of these things we pray in Jesus name. Amen.