Start:Stop-Into your hands I commend my spirit

The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald

Thank you for joining us for Start:Stop. This reflection will last around ten minutes, followed by a period of silence and prayer. The prayer response is on the sheet which you can pick up on the table at the entrance to the church.  Please come and go as your schedule dictates. We begin with a short bible reading, which can be found on page 95 in the New Testament section of the Bible. 

Bible Reading – Luke 23.44-49

The Death of Jesus

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. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

 

Reflection

It is finished. The curtain is torn. The loud cry fades, bringing to an end a slow, lingering and lonely death. After six agonising hours, Christ’s body hangs on the cross.

It is said that we are closer to God at the moment of Jesus’s crucifixion than at any other. So vast is the significance of what happened on the cross that no single explanation or image can adequately explain it. Some see Jesus’s offering of his life on the cross as the supreme example of God’s love. Others say that Jesus died instead of us or that he offered himself as a sacrifice.

“This is my body, given for you.”

On the evening of 24th March 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in a hospital chapel in San Salvador as he prepared to celebrate mass; his body fell to the ground by the altar. Oscar Romero made the ultimate sacrifice – giving his life for what he believed – protesting against rising poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture, as those in power in El Salvador sacrificed the human rights of their countrymen in pursuit of their own economic success. He was not alone – between 1968 and 1979 it is estimated that 1500 priests, nuns and lay people active in the church were arrested, kidnapped, interrogated, tortured or assassinated for doing the same.

A day earlier, in a sermon broadcast via radio to the nation, he called for an end to the repression – pleading with the soldiers, security forces and death squads to put aside their weapons and obey the law of God : Thou shalt not kill. That sermon became his death sentence.

The following day, he arrived at the chapel of the Divine Providence Hospital to celebrate a mass to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of a mother of a friend; the editor of a newspaper, whose offices had been bombed. The readings appointed for that day, and Oscar Romero’s reflections on them, were prophetic. His last words, prior to preparing the altar to celebrate the mass, encouraged those listening to give their bodies, like Christ, to bring “justice and peace to our people.”  Shortly afterwards, at 6.24pm, he was killed by a single gun shot.

Oscar Romero willingly sacrificed his life for what he believed - to show God’s love for the poor. An extreme example of following the way of the cross - and not one which we will be able to emulate. But we are all likely to face moments when we have the chance to say or do something that shows what we believe life is for - perhaps through supporting someone in need, in charitable work, following a call to confirmation or ministry in the church, or helping to share the Good News with others. We are called not only to give these moments our all - but also all the times in between - no matter how insignificant they may seem in the shadow of the cross.  As Pope Francis reminded us on Sunday when he canonised Oscar Romero – and six others - in St Peter’s Square;

 “Jesus is radical. He gives all and he asks all…he gives himself to us as the living bread; can we give him crumbs in exchange? Jesus is not content with a “percentage of love” : we cannot love him twenty or fifty or sixty percent. It is either all or nothing.”

In the account of the crucifixion in Luke’s Gospel that we have just read, the last words spoken by Jesus are taken from Psalm 31 - “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” - giving all he has, even amidst the agony of the cross - to God. It can be a powerful experience to recite these words and to meditate on this phrase - to contemplate the power of God’s loving embrace, to imagine ourselves resting in his hands, freely offering Him all that we are – not seeking to be some sort of back seat driver or co-pilot alongside God in our lives - but to be at one with God.

“Christ has no body now but yours”

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

These words are attributed by some to St Teresa of Avila, whose feast day was celebrated by many parts of the church yesterday. A Carmelite nun, she spent her life reforming the order, reinforcing the vows of poverty, austerity, solitude and encouraging members of the community to spend time in prayer and contemplation. Teresa was a woman of amazing energy, founding dozens of convents – and a prolific writer of many books on prayer and spirituality.

On the cross, Jesus became ‘at one’ with God, enabling God and humanity to freely communicate with each other. 

The practice of communicating with God through prayer was the subject of many of St Teresa’s writings. Her book, The Interior Castle written in 1577 as a guide for spiritual development through prayer and action, was inspired by her vision of the soul as a diamond in the shape of a castle containing seven mansions, which she interpreted as the journey of faith through seven stages, ending with a union with God.

Just as we glimpse the connection between heaven and earth when we stand at the foot of the cross, The Interior Castle helps us to make sense of the tension between contemplation and action – how to both rest in God’s hands in prayer – and to use our hands for God’s work on earth. After progressing through the mystical experiences St Teresa describes, even ordinary, day to day actions are infused by the love of God. Through contemplative prayer, we grow closer to God. St Teresa said “Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”  Or, as Rowan Williams puts it; echoing St Teresa’s famous sense of humour, “by the time you have been through the seventh mansion of spiritual union with God, you are better at the washing-up.”

In the Gospel reading, we see a glimmer of consolation amid the desolation of the crucifixion. The centurion – the most unlikely of people - seems to have had some sort of inkling, praising God as he proclaimed the innocence of Jesus. The crowds returned to their homes, beating their breasts. Did those who remained, looking on from a distance, realise the power of Jesus’s message?

We know that there is hope. We can be inspired by those, like Saint Oscar Romero, who have made the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe. We can gain strength from the writings of St Teresa of Avila, which show us how  to be with God in our everyday tasks; seeing our hands as Christ’s hands as we use them to point, click, swipe and scroll – dedicating every minute of our lives - in prayer and action - to living out our calling as disciples of Christ.

In a few moments of silence before we pray, perhaps we might contemplate the words of Christ on the cross; and, through his sacrifice, place ourselves in the wonderful, transforming power of God’s loving embrace.

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Prayers

As we join together in prayer, asking God to help us to change ourselves and each other so that we might change the world, the response to Into your hands, O Lord is “I commend my spirit.”

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

A Prayer of St Teresa of Avila;

Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You,

always follow Your plans,

and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will.

Grant that in all things, great and small,

Today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me.

Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace,

so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honour.

May Your Will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me.

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

Lord, your cross speaks both to us and to our world.

In your dying for us you accepted the pain and hurt

Of the whole of creation.

The arms of your cross stretch out across the

Broken world in reconciliation.

You have made peace with us.

Help us to make peace with you by sharing in your

Reconciling work.

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

Lord we thank you for the example of Oscar Romero and all your saints. Let his life inspire us and, by the power of your Spirit guide us in bringing about an end to poverty and injustice in the world. We pray especially for those working to bring peace to areas of conflict. For aid workers in Yemen and Indonesia.

Lord, help us to recognise those moments in our lives when we can say or do something that reveals your love for us and for your world.

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

We pray for all those who bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to your people. We pray for our own church community and for the church throughout the world. We pray for those who are persecuted for their faith, who are unable to gather in your name and worship you.

Through the death of your Son on the cross, you have allowed us to communicate freely with you. Help us to spend time in your presence today, resting in your hands. Lord, we give thanks for the teaching of St Teresa of Avila, whose teachings help us to glimpse your glory in the smallest of actions.

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

We pray for ourselves and all who work in the City of London. We pray especially today for all doctors, nurses and all those who care for others. Let their service inspire our own. Lord help us to see our hands as your hands as we use them today to follow our call to be your disciples.

Into your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit.

Blessing

Put your hand in God’s hand
and walk with him wherever he may lead,
knowing that he will walk with you,
this day and always.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen

Thank you for joining us for Start:Stop today. Please join us tomorrow at 6pm for Choral Evensong. Our weekly Sung Eucharist takes place at 12.45pm every Thursday. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and a great week ahead.

The next reflection will begin in a few minutes.

Links

Image : The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald
Holy Mass and Canonisations – Pope Francis, 14th October 2018
Faith Confirmed by Peter Jackson & Chris Wright, SPCK
The Interior Castle - St Teresa of Avila, 1577
Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life by Rowan Williams
The Final 24 Hours of a Martyr, Catholic Herald, May 21 2015
Óscar Romero’s last homily – America Magazine, October 12th 2018