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[At his crucifixion],
aware that everything
was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus
said,
“I thirst.” There was a vessel
filled
with common wine. So they put a sponge
soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It
is finished.” And bowing his head, he
handed over the spirit.
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The
story of the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
takes place almost entirely on board the HMS Surprise, a small vessel
that is out gunned by its quarry, the French warship Acheron. The
captain of the Surprise, Jack Aubry has one charge--to prevent the
French
from controlling the waters off Brazil. It all starts poorly for the
Surprise. As Aubry comments, "We are soundly beaten." The
logical and perhaps more humane thing to do would be to go back to
port, regroup, repair the ship, and start again. But Aubry
chooses otherwise. In spite of debilitating injuries that
requires the medical skill of Aubry's friend Stephen Maturin and storms
that practically disable the vessel, Aubry
decides to "repair on the run" using strategy rather than firepower to accomplish his goal. Aubry, despite the
odds, was committed to
what he was assigned to do, and set out to accomplish it.
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"Doing
our job" is an important part of life. Jesus had a
job to do, and at the end of his life, as he was "aware that everything
was finished," he could leave. His job as a human being was done.
He had fulfilled the task. He had done the best that he
could. He had begun the Kingdom, he had taught his doctrine, he
had been the prophet that others would listen to forever. He had
been called to save humankind, and he had accomplished it.
One of the lessons of maturity is to understand what our task is at any given moment, and to do what we can to fulfill it as best we can. Captain Jack Aubry of the HMS Surprise was such a person. His job was to maintain his country's control of a certain part of the ocean. He did it as best he could. Everyone of us has a job to accomplish: from "being in school" to "maintaining a family." And with a little reflection, we know what we have to do to accomplish it well. Christian leaders will recognize what their jobs are and do whatever it takes to do them the best that they can. |
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THOUGHT
Above all, what do you want to accomplish
in life? What is the best way to go about it?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, your Son accomplished our redemption, and at the same
time taught us to do our best to accomplish the goals that we have
in our lives. Give us your grace to carry it out as best as we can. Be
with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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