Palm Sunday 2009B
The Seven Sayings from the Cross
During Holy Week we often meditate and reflect on the last words
of Jesus on the cross. But there is a change from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. On Good Friday the altar cross is cloaked in black; the hangings are removed; all
is bare. The tone of Good Friday is one of sorrow and sadness; oppositely the
tone of Palm Sunday is one of anticipation, of penultimate victory, of the promise of transformation. Although on Palm Sunday we ordinarily repeat the Passion story, today we read the gospel story of the Triumphal
Entry having heard the Passion Cantata. And we listen to the last
seven sayings from the Cross on this Palm -- Passion – Sunday: with anticipation, with assurance of penultimate victory, with the promise of transformation.
In the four Gospels there are seven sayings attributed to the dying
Christ: one in Matthew and Mark, three each in Luke and John. Good Friday
meditations focus on the passion and suffering of Jesus. This Passion Sunday
meditation on Jesus' words from the cross will focus on the transforming power of the resurrection and on the loving compassion
of our savior.
My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me? These words are recorded in both Matthew and Mark, and in them alone.
They are from the opening verse of Psalm 22, and a text that Jesus would have known well. As he hangs on the cross the words
are of pain and abandonment. Everyone,
at some time has felt, or will feel, that way. But
in the resurrection, God makes it clear once and for all that pain and suffering and death do not have the final word.
No matter how much we may feel lost and hopeless, God will transform all suffering
in the eternal life that awaits us. In the final word from the Cross and Resurrection is this: "All shall tell of the Lord to the coming generations, and
proclaim God's deliverance to a people yet unborn, that God has accomplished it…."
Father, forgive them; for they
do not know what they do. Luke records
these as Jesus' first words as he is being nailed to the cross. They show the extraordinary compassion of our savior,
fulfilling his own instruction to his disciples and to us to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. In the resurrection, God does what Jesus asks: All
are forgiven. Easter bids us to remember, to accept, and finally, to live this out.
Truly,
I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. These
words also are found only in Luke, an expression of hope and compassion given to one of those crucified with Jesus who asked
to be remembered by him. The man's faith in Jesus is met with a promise
of fulfillment. In the resurrection, God affirms the promise which is extended
to all. The condition of perfect harmony with God, damaged and lost in our
fall from grace, is now restored in Jesus. Our ultimate and eternal destination
is confirmed.
Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit. The
final words recorded by Luke (Ps 31)express the other side of abandonment which is trust even in the darkest hour. The resurrection
affirms our trust in God is never misplaced, even if it seems that there is no apparent solution to our cares and struggles.
Woman, behold your son. Man, behold your mother. These words from the cross are recorded in John's Gospel. Jesus is speaking to his own mother and to “the
beloved disciple." His concern is to establish a new family relationship for his mother, giving her someone
to care for her. Our relationships matter, especially with those we love and
with whom we share a life history, but also with all whose lives intersect with ours. Jesus
creates a new bond among us. The resurrection is an assurance that not only do
our relationships with one another connect to our relationship with God, but also that we will never lose those we love.
I Thirst. These words are found only in John.
There is a very human and a spiritual aspect to this cry. On the one hand, Jesus suffers and thirsts as would all humans,
but, beyond this, there are the deepest human longings for God and for God's transforming loving, and life-giving presence
in our lives. The resurrection assures us that in Christ these longings are fulfilled.
It is
finished! John's final words from the dying Jesus are a cry of victory. Jesus,
the incarnate love and Word of God, has loved to the very end. He has loved in
spite of betrayal, torture, humiliation, and suffering. He has loved enough to
die as we all will die. The resurrection is the final and total fulfillment of
this love, this amazing grace from the Lord who love us still.
Amen
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adapted from The Rev. James I. Burns, Church of the Heavenly Rest, New York, New York,
“Transformation” , The Anglican Digest, Lent 2009 A.D., pp. 54-55
