7 Words of Easter: Finished

 ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30

Today we continue to lean into the 7 words or phrases of Jesus at the cross.

We are all Easter Saturday people. Living in a time after death and before resurrection. A sort of limbo. In this space, some days find belief easier than others. The death of Good Friday is past and the resurrection of Easter Sunday does not always feel certain. In today’s statement of Jesus at the cross, we hear something our soul longs for: a finish.

A finished dream

A finished desire

A finished goal

A finished heartbreak

We can so easily miss the journey for the destination. This is certainly true with the successes of life, but how about the struggles? Is there anything to learn in the painful process of suffering? The life of Christ surely shows that it does. In the lives of the two criminals crucified beside Him, we see this. While one rails against his circumstance (and rightfully so) the other has a powerful soul movement. It is almost if the suffering has produced some sort of spiritual clarity. The three crosse on the hill that day, brought out all of their true selves. It was a painfully finished product of the whole of their existence. Christ was completing His Father’s work, one man was hardened by His suffering, and the last man allowed his suffering to transform him, not by bitterness, but by love.

“A cross is hardly a cross if you want it”

I was reminded recently that a cross which is desired, is not a cross at all but more a inconvenience. To bear something, gives the connotation of acceptance even through considerable discomfort. As the ministry of Christ progressed, we can imagine His cross becoming clearer. Through His humanity, He wished for a different way. This perhaps proves His discomfort and the weight of the Good Friday moment. He was not reserved with injustice, He did not simply turn a blind eye to it. However, He did know His cross, which happened to be a literal cross, and so He refused for it to be for naught. Because of this, no other inanimate object has such reverence and hope as this.

We live in a fragmented time. A time when the Church largely chooses its own cross and denies the importance of those others carry. If we are to be Christ people, walking in our true redeemed selves, then we must carry such a cross, allowing it to transform our soul. For as the suffering of Christ proclaims, nothing is wasted. Our cross is the single largest moment for the movement and redemption of Christ in our lives. Without it, we will never experience a true Easter Sunday. And so we hang on. We pray freely for our finish, but accept its timing in faith. The dawn of our cross is coming.

Lord, we live in this Saturday ache. We long for completion and clarity. Teach us to trust in your movement, even when you are silent. May this silence shape us into the character you wish. May we be worthy of the cross we carry, knowing that we never carry it alone. Help our humility and righteous longings shape a Church that is hurting for more of you. Thank you that it is finished, even when it seems overwhelming. Amen