March 29, 2024
Hymn: Praise to the Holiest in the Heights
The First Word: Forgiveness
‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’
Luke 23:26-27, 32-34
As they led Jesus away to be crucified, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
Silent Reflection
Prayer
‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’
Father, we give you thanks, because while we were yet sinners, you sent your Son to die for our forgiveness.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Second Word: Salvation
‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise’
Luke 23:35-43
The people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
Silent Reflection
‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
Father, we give you thanks, that through Christ’s death on the cross, you welcome us into your presence and open the way to eternal life with you.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Hymn: When I survey the wondrous cross
The Third Word: Relationship
‘Woman, here is your son.’
John 19:25-27
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Silent Reflection
As Jesus is dying, his mother is among those who remain with him. Most of the male disciples have fled, with the exception of one called “the disciple he loved.” Many interpreters believe he is John, the writer of this Gospel. Here Jesus forges a relationship of mutual caring between this disciple and his mother; he wants to make sure she will be in good hands after his death.
The presence of Mary at the cross adds both humanity and horror to the scene. We are reminded that Jesus was a real human being, a man who had once been a boy and who had once been carried in the womb of his mother. Even as he was dying on the cross as the Saviour of the World, Jesus was also a son and a friend.
When we think of the crucifixion of Jesus from the perspective of his mother, its horror increases greatly. The death of a child is one of the most painful of all experiences. We’re reminded of the prophecy of Simeon shortly after Jesus’ birth, when he said to Mary: “And a sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:35).
Prayer
‘Woman, here is your son.’
Father, we give you thanks, that through Christ you invite us into a relationship of love with you and all your world.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Fourth Word: Abandonment
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Mark 15:33-35
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’
Silent Reflection
As Jesus is dying on the cross, he echoes the beginning of Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
In the words of the psalmist Jesus finds a way to express the cry of his heart: Why has God abandoned him? Why does his Father turn his back on him in his moment of greatest agony?
We will never fully know what Jesus was experiencing at this moment. Was he asking this question because, in the mystery of his incarnational suffering, he didn’t know why God had abandoned him? Or was his cry not so much a question as an expression of profound agony? Or was it both?
In that excruciating moment, Jesus experiences something far more terrible than physical pain. The beloved Son of God knows what it is like to be rejected by his Father. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.
We can hardly grasp the mystery and the majesty of this truth. As Martin Luther once said, “God forsaking God. Who can understand it?” Yet even a tiny glimpse of this reality calls us to confession, to humility, to worship, to adoration.
Prayer
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Father, we give you thanks, that Jesus was willing to experience abandonment, so that we might not need ever to be abandoned.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Hymn: There is a green hill
The Fifth Word: Distress
‘I am thirsty.’
John 19:28-29
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
Silent Reflection
John records that Jesus said “I am thirsty,” not only as a statement of physical reality, but also in order to fulfil the Scripture. Perhaps John was thinking of Psalm 69, which includes this passage:
Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair.
If only one person would show some pity;
if only one would turn and comfort me.
But instead, they give me poison for food;
they offer me sour wine for my thirst.
As he suffers, Jesus embodies the pain of the people of Israel, that had been captured in the Psalms. Jesus is suffering for the sin of Israel, even as he takes upon himself the sin of the world.
Our own thirst is nothing like that of Jesus. Rather, we are thirsty for him; our souls yearn for the living water that Jesus supplies. We rejoice in the fact that he suffered physical thirst on the cross – and so much more – so that our thirst for the water of life might be quenched.
Prayer
‘I am thirsty.’
Father, we give you thanks, that through Jesus all our thirsts are satisfied. May we cry out to you in our distress and may our thirst be for you alone.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Hymn: The head that once was crowned with thorns
The Sixth Word: Triumph
‘It is finished!’
John 19:30
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’
Silent Reflection
When Jesus says this word, perhaps he is expressing relief that his suffering is over. But the Greek verb translated as “It is finished” (tetelestai) means more than just this. Eugene Peterson captures its full sense in The Message: “It’s done . . . complete.” Jesus has accomplished his mission; this is a cry of triumph. He announced and inaugurated the kingdom of God. He revealed the love and grace of God. And now he embodies that love and grace by dying for the sin of the world, thus opening up the way for all to live under the reign of God.
Jesus accomplishes what we never could, taking our sin upon himself and giving us his life in return. Jesus finishes that for which he was sent, and we are the beneficiaries of his unique effort. We have hope for this life and for the next. We know that nothing can separate us from God’s love. One day what God has begun in us will also be finished, by his grace. Until that day, we live in the confidence of Jesus’ cry of victory: “It is finished!”
Prayer
‘It is finished!’
Father, we give you thanks, for Jesus’ faithfulness and obedience to your will, so that his death on the cross is no defeat but a great triumph for your love.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
The Seventh Word: Reunion
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
Luke 23:44-46
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.
Silent Reflection
Earlier Jesus uses Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” to express his anguish. Now he borrows from Psalm 31, in this final word: “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands.”
But when we look further at this psalm, we see more than what at first meets our eyes. Psalm 31 begins with a cry for divine help:
O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right. (v. 1)
But then it mixes asking for God’s deliverance with a confession of God’s strength and faithfulness:
I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, LORD, for you are a faithful God. (v. 5)
By the end, Psalm 31 offers praise of God’s salvation:
Praise the LORD, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city was under attack. (v. 21)
In quoting a portion of Psalm 31, therefore, Jesus not only entrusts his future to his Father, but also expresses faith that he will be delivered and exonerated. No, God does not deliver him from death by crucifixion. But beyond this horrific death lies something marvellous. Here Jesus points forward to the resurrection.
Prayer
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
Father, we give you thanks, that in his death Jesus was reunited with you in perfect union with the Holy Spirit. May we place ourselves wholly into your hands, and trust in your gift of new life.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you
Because, by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Hymn: There is a Redeemer
Closing Prayer
Most merciful God, who, by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus, delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross, we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ.
Reflections adapted from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markdroberts/.