“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.” Luke 24:50

I hope my last words spoken on this earth are poignant and heart-warming, perhaps even quotable. I don’t want my last utterance to be something like, “Don’t forget — the garbage goes out on Wednesdays” or “Did we get pre-authorization from the insurance company for this?”

You can tell a lot about a person by their parting remarks.

When Lady Nancy Astor saw all her children standing by her bedside, she said, “Is it my birthday or am I dying?” I wonder how they answered that question.

Groucho Marx quipped to his tearful wife, “Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do.” Are you kidding?

Trailblazer Kit Carson was quoted as saying, “I just wish I had time for one more bowl of chili.” That must have been some crazy good chili.

Conrad Hilton left a bit of advice with his last words: “Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub.” No comment.

Mother Theresa spoke from her heart, “Jesus, I love you.  Jesus, I love you.” Just what I’d expect.

And then there was Steve Jobs — “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.” Indeed.

With His last words spoken on earth,
Jesus pronounced a blessing on the disciples.

Was it the Old Testament blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you…”? Or like Moses, who had a blessing for each of the twelve tribes of Israel just before he died, did Jesus give each of the disciples a special word? What He said was not recorded in Luke’s gospel, but the sight of Jesus lifting His hands in blessing caused great joy among the disciples. It doesn’t indicate that Jesus put His hands down as He ascended.

Even now,
Our Savior’s hands of blessing are raised over His Bride,
the Church.

I don’t know when my last day on earth will be.
I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to offer any parting words.
So today, I’ll speak words of blessing on those around me.
Just in case.