7
Words From the Cross
Word
#1 Luke 23:33-35
Reflection:
Our
first word, sometimes called the word of forgiveness. AS Jesus is
hung on the cross, as he is being mocked and the soldiers divide up
his few possessions as they would the spoils of war, he offers a word
(a prayer?) of forgiveness for those who have abused and murdered
him. “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing”.
But
they do know what they are doing, don’t they? Depends how you look
at it. Because we sometimes think we know what we are doing when
something else is happening too. The leaders and the soldiers know
that they are trying to keep the Roman Peace by disposing of a
troublemaker. Jesus suggests that unknowingly they are doing
something else. For centuries that thing they are being forgiven for,
because they don’t know they are doing it, is the murder of the
Messiah, the execution of the Son of God.
Forgiveness
is a big part of how we are brought back to be at-one with God and
with each other. Sometimes that forgiveness is when we know what we
did. Sometimes it is when we don’t know how we screwed up. At the
time of his death Jesus continues to remind us of the power of
forgiveness. He continues to model what it means to forgive when it
is not easy. When do we need to hear the words “forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing” and know that we are a part
of ‘them’? When do we help put people on crosses, when do we mock
those who have been offered up?
Prayer:
God
of grace and mercy. Today we remember that we all fall short of who
we could be. Today we remember that we all need to forgive and to be
forgiven. Open our hearts to your grace. Open our hearts to your
mercy. Help us admit our failings, help us hear when we didn’t know
what we were doing. We pray in the name of Jesus, who shows us that
we are forgiven. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#2 Luke 23:39-43
Reflection:
A
2nd word, one of salvation. Following close on the word of
forgiveness comes the promise of paradise. Crucified beside Jesus are
two “criminals”, maybe common thieves but likely brigands or
rebels. One of them joins with the crowd, the other has mercy in his
heart. Maybe this speaks to why they got themselves where they are?
Was the first in it for himself while the 2nd had loftier
ideals?
At
any rate the honesty of repentance, of naming the truth seems to be a
part of salvation. Can we only truly embrace the Kingdom of God when
we are willing to acknowledge who and where we are? Only then can we
open ourselves to the grace and mercy of God, only then can we, as
they say, throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.
The
Kingdom of God is among us, Jesus said. The Kingdom of God is open to
us. But we have to open ourselves first.
Prayer:
Jesus,
remember me, when you come into your kingdom. We echo the ancient
words. We throw ourselves on God’s mercy as we open our hearts to
the reality of God’s Reign. Or we want to at least. God help us to
be that vulnerable and honest. In a world where we are told that
anything goes to get what we want, help us know when that is wrong.
Help us be able to accept our consequences. And then help us know
that we are welcome in the Kingdom after all. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#3 John 19:25-27
Reflection:
What
is life without relationship? Our relationships are, hopefully, the
places where we find support and comfort. We all need people who will
care for us, we all need family. Sometimes family is by birth,
sometimes it is by choice. In this 3rd word, sometimes
called the word of relationship, we are reminded of the importance of
family.
This
word also reminds us to always watch out for those we love. I suspect
many of us would become a little bit self-absorbed were we hanging on
that cross. But Jesus sees people in pain, people in need of love and
acts on it. Maybe Jesus’ mother and the Beloved Disciple would have
made that connection on their own. Maybe not. Jesus leaves nothing up
to chance.
When
do we need someone to step in as adoptive family and ease our pain?
When do we need to adopt someone? Jesus calls us to care for and love
each other. Whose pain can we share in our world today? Where can we
build relationship?
Prayer:
God
who loves us as a parent, we give thanks for the loving healthy
relationships in our lives. Help us know when we need to open our
hearts and welcome another in. Help us know when we need to allow
ourselves to be welcomed in. God who calls us to live in
relationship, may we be ready ad willing to share the joy and sorrow,
the triumph and defeat of life with the people around us. Help us God
to treat as family, everyone whose lie we share. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#4 Mark 15:33-35
Reflection:
Have
you ever felt totally alone? It is not a pleasant feeling. And in
the end it doesn’t really matter if you are really as alone as you
feel, being told that you are not alone may do nothing to change the
feeling. Sometimes emotion trumps logic.
Over
the centuries people have struggled with this word of abandonment.
Surely Jesus could not have really felt abandoned by God, even at
this hour of despair! Surely Jesus always knew himself help in God’s
love! Surely Jesus, being God, could not possibly be abandoned by
God!
At
the same time Christian theology has always held that Jesus is fully
divine AND fully human (even if Christian theology has never been
able to make that statement make logical sense). To be human is to
know those times when you feel alone. Jesus has seen most of his
friends run away, as he had predicted. Jesus has been tried and
convicted. Jesus is dying an agonizing death Feeling abandoned by
everyone, even God, makes sense to me.
“We
are not alone, we live in God’s world...in life in death, in life
beyond death God is with us. We are not alone” Our United Church
Creed reminds us of a great truth. But there are still times when
God’s people feel abandoned. Looking at the world there are lots of
times when it makes more sense that God has gone away, than to say
God is still there and yet all this horror still exists. WE can tell
our selves that all of creation is in God ad that God is always with
us but have trouble seeing the evidence this is true. And emotion can
trump logic, heart can trump brain. Do we have the courage to name
the depth of feeling that comes with being abandoned?
Prayer:
God
in whom we live and move and have our being, there are days. Days
when we feel alone, lost, left behind. On those days move in our
souls, stir the fire of hope in our bellies, remind us of the great
truth—that we are never alone. Even when the world does terrible
things, even when we can not hear your voice, we trust that you would
never truly abandon us. It just feels that way, and we need you to
know it. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#5 John 19:28-29
Reflection:
Words
4 and 5 have moved us into the agony of the cross. First that word of
emotional distress. Now this word of physical distress. John tells us
that Jesus says this to fulfil Scripture. I tend to think that after
a few hours in the Palestinian sun Jesus likely was thirsty (part of
that fully human thing).
On
a metaphorical level I think Jesus has been thirsty for a long time.
Furthermore I think Jesus wants us to be thirsty too. Thirsty for the
wine of justice, thirsty for the water of righteousness. Sadly I
think that too often we settle for sour wine. Too often we think sour
wine is all we have to give.
Every
year I spend some of my time around Good Friday considering the
crosses in our world. Whenever we accept those crosses as “the way
things need to be” I think we settle for sour wine, a fluid that
does not really satisfy at all. Maybe we should demand the good wine,
the fresh water that heals and satisfies, maybe we should look to see
what we have to offer to those who hunger and thirst for justice,
peace, righteousness – for the Kingdom. In John Jesus begins his
ministry in the town of Cana at a wedding where the wine has run out.
At that point his mother pushes him to do something about it and
solve the thirst problem. Now it is Jesus who is thirsty. What will
we do? What will we offer?
Prayer:
God
who first moved over the waters of creation called forth life, we
thirst for the water of life. We pray both that you will slake our
thirst and, at the same time keep us thirsting for the good wine, for
the fresh water. In a world where “good enough” is often seen as
the standard push us to work for the better. In a world where so many
hunger and thirst push us to work to see them fed in body and in
soul, as we live into the Kingdom of abundant love. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#6 John 19:30-34
Reflection:
Counter-intuitively
this penultimate word is called a word of Triumph. Triumph, as Jesus
says it is finished and gives up his spirit. Does that make sense?
Then again this day of a dark ad terrible story is called Good
Friday, which also seems a bit counter-intuitive.
Where
is the triumphant note in the last breath of Jesus? Some suggest that
a better translation is in fact “it is competed” or “it is
accomplished”. Do those other verbs say something different? They
are all verbs of ending, but the latter two may lead us to that note
of triumph.
‘Finished”
could just mean an end, but ‘completed’ or ‘accomplished’
suggest work that has been done. There is a strong theological
tradition that the work which is completed is the sacrificial death
for the forgiveness of sins. This is certainly a possible reading of
Scripture. I also think a reading is that the work of Jesus’ life
is now finished/completed/accomplished. Jesus has done what ho could
to proclaim and bring on the Kingdom of God. The next steps are not his. They may be God’s, they may be those Jesus taught and led, but
he has done his part.
Still
the only triumph I find in this part of the story, especially if I
put myself in the context of not knowing the “rest of the story”,
is the triumph of the powers and principalities. The powers that
actively work against the Reign of God have won. They have stopped
the revolution. “It is Finished” could also be “well we tried,
but now we’re toast...”. I wonder what those standing on that
hillside understood it to mean?
Prayer:
God
of beginnings and endings, what is finished today? You call us to
resist the powers and principalities but so often they seem stronger,
better organized, better supported. So often they draw us in and we
give in to the easier path they offer. What is accomplished on this
day? As we move forward as people of faith help us to see the
possibility of victory and not give in to defeat. Help us play our
part in the growing of the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed. Amen.
A
Candle is Extinguished
Word
#7 Luke 23:44-46
Reflection:
Our
final word. Luke’s version of the dying words of Christ. Tradition
seems to view it as the counter to word 4. The abandonment expressed
in Eloi Eloi Lama Sabacthani is now reversed as Jesus dies with words
of trust that God is present “”into your hands I commend my
spirit”. If Jesus was abandoned by God they are now reunited.
Is
it a sign of hope?
Is
it a sign of surrender?
Is
it a sign of trust?
Is
it all 3?
On
this Good Friday we have listened as Jesus dies on the cross. We have
heard his words as shared by the Gospel writers. Now we come to the
end. Just as Jesus was confident in the loving presence of God
throughout the story to this point he dies in that same confidence. I
see hope and trust there. Where God is present there is hope – even
if it is really hard to see. As it stands now the sinfulness of the
world seems to have won. All those things that work against God’s
Reign are powerful. That is as true today as it was in the 1st
century. It is dangerous to upset the system, to challenge the “way
things are”. But sometimes tat is were God leads us. May we have
the confidence and trust of Jesus when we challenge the powers, when
we are consumed with passion for the kingdom. God is in that
activity.
Prayer:
God
of the cross, God present at the end, God who awakes passion in us,
we come to the end of today’s story. It brings us sorrow. It makes
us wonder what it was all worth. But still you are here. Still you
are here. Keep us filled with passion for the Kingdom when the way is
hard. Keep us looking toward Jesus when our confidence fails. Give us
the courage to risk a cross of our own, and we we have given it our
all may we still have trust in you ad your Reign. We pray in the name
of the one who hangs on the cross. Jesus of Nazareth. Amen
THE
CHRIST CANDLE IS PUT OUT
