Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hand I commend my spirit;" and when he said that he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46)
Jesus dies. Darkness comes over the whole land.
When Jesus was an infant, Simeon took him in his arms and said this child would be "a light to the nations." He is ... although there are times when it seems darkness is winning. John, right at the beginning of his Gospel, has it right: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
At his baptism, Jesus heard the voice from heaven say, "You are my beloved Son." He believed it, and knew that no matter how dark the darkness gets, it can never overcome God.
The first words of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, spoken at the age of 12, make reference to his Father: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Now, his very last words are addressed directly to the Father: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
I wonder if, when I am dying, I'll be able to speak to God that way - so personally, and with such trust.
- Little Black Book, Diocese of Saginaw