May 21, 1738: Charles Wesley’s Experience of Assurance

Most United Methodists know that John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation at a Moravian society meeting on May 24, 1738 in a room somewhere on Aldersgate Street in London. They need to be reminded that his younger brother, Charles, had a similar experience three days earlier, on May 21, Pentecost Sunday. The following is part of Charles journal entry recounting the events of that day. He immediately set pen to paper and composed two great hymns, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain” and “Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin”.

The Methodist movement emerged from the Wesley brother’s evangelical experiences in May 1738.

From the Journal of Charles Wesley:

The Day of Pentecost. Sun., May 21st, 1738. I waked in hope and expectation of His coming. At nine my brother and some friends came, and sang a hymn to the Holy Ghost. My comfort and hope were hereby increased. In about half-an-hour they went: I betook myself to prayer; the substance as follows :– “Oh Jesus, thou hast said, ‘I will come unto you ; ‘thou hast said, ‘ I will send the Comforter unto you ; thou hast said, ‘My Father and I will come unto you, and make our abode with you.’ Thou art God who canst not lie; I wholly rely upon thy most true promise: accomplish it in thy time and manner.” Having said this, I was composing myself to sleep, in quietness and peace, when I heard one come in Mrs. Musgrave, I thought, by the voice) and say, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt he healed of all thy infirmities.” I wondered how it should enter into her head to speak in that manner. The words struck me to the heart. I sighed, and said within myself, “O that Christ would but speak thus to me from Christ of my recovery, soul and body. . . . I rose and looked into the Scripture. The words that first presented were, “And now, Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope is even in thee.” I then cast down my eye, and met, “He hath put a new song in my mouth, even a thanksgiving unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall put their trust in the Lord.” Afterwards I opened upon Isaiah 40:1: “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God: speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sin.” I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ. My temper for the rest of the day was, mistrust of my own great, but before unknown, weakness. I saw that by faith I stood; by the continual support of faith, which kept me from falling, though of myself I am ever sinking into sin. I went to bed still sensible of my own weakness, (I humbly hope to be more and more so,) yet confident of Christ’s protection.

Where shall my wandering soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin,
A brand plucked from eternal fire,
How shall I equal triumphs raise,
And sing my great deliverer’s praise?

O how shall I the goodness tell,
Father, which thou to me hast showed?
That I, a child of wrath and hell,
I should be called a child of God!
Should know, should feel my sins forgiven,
blest with this antepast of heaven!

And shall I slight my Father’s love,
Or basely fear his gifts to own?
Unmindful of his favors prove,
Shall I, the hallowed cross to shun,
Refuse his righteousness to impart,
By hiding it within my heart?

Outcasts of men, to you I call,
Harlots and publicans and thieves;
He spreads his arms to embrace you all,
Sinners alone his grace receive.
No need of him the righteous have;
He came the lost to seek and save.

Come, O my guilty brethren, come,
Groaning beneath your load of sin;
His bleeding heart shall make you room,
His open side shall take you in.
He calls you now, invites you home:
Come, O my guilty brethren, come.

For you the purple current flowed
In pardon from his wounded side,
Languished for you the eternal God,
For you the Prince of Glory died,
Believe, and all your guilt’s forgiven,
Only believe—and yours is heaven.

A Love Feast for Covenant Discipleship Groups

The Love Feast was, for many years, an important part of life in the Methodist societies. John Wesley adapted it from the Moravian Agape Meal. It was an informal time of prayer, singing, testimony, and sharing of food and water. The Love Feast was held monthly for society members. Methodists looked forward to the monthly event.

The United Methodist Book of Worship contains historical information, suggestions for the use of the Love Feast, appropriate hymns and scriptures, as well as the service, itself (pages 581-4).  Given the time constraints of the Covenant Discipleship group meeting, it is impossible for us to use a full service.  What follows is an abbreviated order, which contains some elements and preserves the form of the Book of Worship service while making use of some elements of other forms of the Love Feast.  

The Love Feast may serve as an order for a weekly meeting. The reading of the covenant and each person’s time of accountability serve to replace the ADDRESS OR PERSONAL WITNESS TO THE SCRIPTURE and the TESTIMONIES, PRAYERS, SINGING portions of the Love Feast in the Book of Worship.  

When using the Love Feast as part of the meeting, the leader should distribute copies to each member present.  Permission is granted for you to use and adapt the order below in your Covenant Discipleship group, inserting your group’s covenant.

Because some persons may see similarities between the Love Feast and Holy Communion, it is good to make clear to them that this is not the sacrament at which an ordained elder presides, but is a simple sharing of food led by a lay person.

This introduction was adapted from an article by Dean McIntyre, Music Resources Director, The General Board of Discipleship.

=     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =     =

 BRIEF ORDER FOR A LOVE FEAST
FOR COVENANT DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS

HYMN  (tune, TERRA BEATA (144) or DIADEMATA (327), The UM Hymnal)

Father of earth and heaven,
Thy hungry children feed,
Thy grace be to our spirits given,
That true immortal bread.
Grant us and all our race
In Jesus Christ to prove
The sweetness of thy pardoning grace,
The manna of your love.

(Charles Wesley) 

SCRIPTURE  Suggested lessons:

       Psalm 145:8-21                1 Corinthians 13
2 Corinthians 9:6-15       Philippians 2:5-11
1 John 4:7-21                    Matthew 22:34-40
Luke 9:12-17                    Luke 10:25-37
Luke 14:16-24                  John 6:25-35
John 15:1-17

PRAYERS (This prayer from John Wesley or others may be offered by the leader and group members.)

O God, seeing there is in Christ Jesus
an infinite fullness of all that we can want or desire,
O that we may all receive of his fullness, grace upon grace;
grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities;
to justify our persons and to sanctify our souls;
and to complete that holy change, that renewal of our hearts,
whereby we may be transformed
into that blessed image wherein you did create us.
O make us all acceptable to be partakers
of the inheritance of your saints in light.  Amen.

[OUR COVENANT]
(Here the group reads its covenant together and each give account of her or his discipleship.) 

THE LORD’S PRAYER

FELLOWSHIP OF EATING AND PASSING THE CUP

As group members  pass bread, cake, crackers, etc. to their neighbor they say:
God loves you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

HYMN or DOXOLOGY
 Suggestions:

UMH 186           Alleluia
UMH 659           Jesus Our Friend and Brother
UMH 665          Go Now in Peace
UMH 432          Jesu, Jesu
UMH 583          Sois la Semilla (You Are the Seed)
UMH 572          Pass It On
UMH 566          Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love
UMH 560          Help Us Accept Each Other
UMH 389          Freely, Freely
UMH 402          Lord, I Want to Be a Christian
UMH 422          Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love
UMH 94            Praise God …
TFWS 2223      They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
TFWS 2222      The Servant Song
TFWS 2226     Bind Us Together
TFWS 2224      Make Us One
TFWS 2233      Where Children Belong
TFWS 2168      Love the Lord Your God
TFWS 2167      More Like You
TFWS 2171      Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
TFWS 2175      Together We Serve
TFWS 2176      Make Me a Servant
TFWS 2179      Live in Charity
TFWS 2040     Awesome God

DISMISSAL
(all may pray the Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition, UMH #607)

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

 

This service Copyright © 2013 by The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship. Permission is granted for nonprofit use or adaptation with the inclusion of this clause and The Board of Discipleship’s worship website as source (http://www.gbod.org/worship).

Sources: UM Book of Worship, UM Hymnal, Methodism and the Love-Feast (by Frank Baker.  New York: Macmillan, 1957).

What’s a Methodist? – Part 4 of 4

A Methodist is a Christian training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind. A Methodist is also a Christian training to love his or her neighbor as himself or herself.

In this final post of the series I will explore the meaning of how Methodists train to love their neighbors as themselves. I’ll begin with why loving the neighbor is necessary to Christian discipleship. Then I’ll look at the neighbor Christians are commanded to love. Finally I’ll explore the nature of the love Jesus teaches us to practice.

Why love neighbors? The writer of 1 John is very direct:

“Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The command we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4:20-21).

It’s really quite simple. If you say you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, then it logically follows that you must love what God loves; which means loving those whom God loves. Scripture is clear: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” If God loves the world, which I’m guessing means everyone in the world, then all who profess to love God must necessarily love the world that God loves.

Jesus is very clear about who and how his followers are to love.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).

Active love of God and those whom God loves is the way of perfection. Here to be “perfect” means to be complete and whole. It means to be fully the person God created you to be, in the image of Christ. When we love people who do not love us we imitate God. The more we imitate God we become more like Jesus. The way of love is the way of holiness and wholeness.

Jesus is unambiguous when describing how his followers are to love their neighbors in Matthew 25:31-46. He tells us to give food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, welcome the strangers, give clothing to people who are naked, care for the sick, and visit the prisoners. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus identifies himself with the people who are hungry, alone, thirsty, naked, sick, and imprisoned. They are the neighbors Christians are commanded to love. When we are with them we are in the physical presence of Jesus. When we love the people Jesus loves, we become more like Jesus; which means we become more genuinely the persons God created us to be.

The Scriptures cited above clearly tell us that the “neighbors” Jesus commands his followers to love cannot be limited to the people who live next door or in the neighborhood. The neighbor is anyone, anywhere in the world who is in need. Jesus answers the question “And who is my neighbor” with the parable of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:29-37. John Wesley helps us understand the meaning of “who is my neighbor?” in General Rule #2:

It is expected of all who continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,

Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men: To their bodies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in prison.

To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling under foot that enthusiastic doctrine that “we are not to do good unless our hearts be free to it.”

By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others; buying one of another, helping each other in business, and so much the more because the world will love its own and them only.

By all possible diligence and frugality, that the gospel be not blamed.

By running with patience the race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to be as the filth and offscouring of the world; and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord’s sake.

Here, in the words of Jesus and John Wesley, we see that the neighbor Christians are commanded to love include both the people we know and love, people who are strangers near and far, all people who are suffering and living in want, and even those who hate and persecute us. When we love people who do not love us we imitate Christ Jesus who loves even the people who hate him. Practicing such selfless, self-giving love leads to transformation of the heart and life such that we become more and more fully the persons God created us to be, in the image of Christ.

Finally, how can love be commanded? What kind of love are we called to practice? The love Jesus commands is very different from the love that is commonly spoken of in the culture, and even in the church. The common concept of love emphasizes feelings. When we say we “love” something or someone we mean that we have strong feelings of affection and attraction for the thing or person. The culture convinces us that feelings cannot be commanded. They must emerge naturally and spontaneously. This is why the idea of commanding us to love is such a foreign concept today.

Jesus is teaches a different kind of love. It has much more to do with behavior than with feelings. For Jesus, and John Wesley, love is a way of life. This is why Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the question “And who is my neighbor?”. Rather than tell his audience to think kind thoughts about their neighbors, he tells a story about what a Samaritan did when he encountered a Jewish traveler bloody and beaten on the side of the road. He didn’t feel loving thoughts toward the man lying face down in the dust. Rather, Jesus tells how the Samaritan stopped to help the man, even though he was from a different tribe, and likely had little natural sympathy for him. Nevertheless, because he loved God, the Samaritan stopped to tend to the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn where he instructed the innkeeper to care for him and left money to cover any costs.

Jesus teaches that his way of loving the neighbor is a practice that must be taught and learned until it becomes a habit. This way of love is the very heart of what it means to be a Methodist. The class meeting was the place where Methodists learned the discipline of love. John Wesley called them “works of mercy.” They are described above in the second part of the General Rules. Today we summarize the practices of love as “acts of compassion” and “acts of justice.” Compassion is the act of kindness toward the person who is grieving, hurt, hungry, sick, lonely, or imprisoned. Justice is the act of Christians joined together to ask why people are suffering and acting to change the systems that cause the suffering.

When Christians habitually practice Jesus’ way of love they become Jesus imitators. Imitation ultimately leads to people whose character and behavior are reflections of the Master. This is the goal of Christian discipleship. God supplies the grace and the means (Christian community and the practices known as “means of grace”) we need to become the people he created us to be. As Christians learn and practice the discipline of love the are equipped to participate with Christ in his mission of preparing this world for the coming reign of God on earth as it is in heaven.

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus … Therefore … work out your own salvation; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:5, 12b-13).

One of my favorite signs of spring is baseball spring training. After a five-month rest, the teams assemble every March to take up glove, bat, and ball to hone their throwing, catching, hitting and running skills. Spring training is a time to remember and practice the fundamentals of the game. Players and coaches know the teams that do the best at practicing the basics (hitting, running, catching, throwing, and thinking) are the teams that win championships and have the most fun.

I once read a brief article in Sports Illustrated magazine with a producer for a major television network’s broadcasts of major league baseball games. If you watch baseball on television, you know that the managers, along with some of the coaches and players, wear microphones during the games. This allows the network to occasionally broadcast parts of on-field or dugout conversations. The producer’s job was to listen to those conversations. The interviewer asked, “What surprised you most as you listened to all those conversations?” Her reply fascinated me. She said, “The thing that surprised me most was how often the coaches remind the players to pay attention to the basics of the game.”

Think about it. Major League players have played baseball all their lives. And yet, they must be reminded to attend to the basics. This is because the basics are easily taken for granted and neglected. Coaches know that when the basics are neglected play gets sloppy and games are lost.

Now, you may be wondering what all this has to do with discipleship. As I study and learn about Christian discipleship in the Wesleyan tradition, I have become convinced that it is very similar to playing baseball. There is a set of basic skills that must be learned and practiced. With discipline and practice persons grow in love, knowledge and ability to live into the goal of discipleship (Phil. 2:5). An athlete who engages in the discipline of baseball becomes a baseball player. A person who commits his or her life to the discipline of following Jesus Christ in the world becomes a Christian disciple.

We know that not all people are gifted athletes. However, God has given every human being the gift of God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). This means that we are created to be like God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s triune nature is relational. God is a community of divine love. Therefore, to be created in the image of the triune God is to be created for relationship. This means we are “hard wired” to love God and to love all that God loves.

The gift that God shares with all of humankind is the capacity to love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). God has given us the means to develop and grow into Christ’s way of loving and living in the world: grace. Flowing from that grace are the teachings (Matthew 5:1-7:29), commandments (Matthew 22:37-39; 28:19-20a; John 13:34-35), and promises (Matthew 18:18-20; 28:20b; John 14:1-3, 15-27) of Jesus Christ.

Grace is the power of God working in the world to draw all of humankind to himself. It is the power of God’s love that gives human beings the capacity and ability to love. Love is grace. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is God’s love, incarnate and active in the world in Jesus Christ, that awakens, equips, and empowers us to love as God loves. This love draws us to God and sends us into the world to love those whom God loves as God loves them.

The teachings, commandments and promises of Christ guide us into this way of life. They are like the rules of baseball in that they provide boundaries and direction for playing the game. Inside the boundaries of the rules there are infinite possibilities for how the game is played. The same is true of life lived in Christ.

The rules of baseball determine the basic skills and practices players must develop if they are to have fun and play the game well: throwing, catching, hitting, running, and thinking. They also establish that one must be part of a team in order to play the game. Baseball is not an individual endeavor. It is a team effort. The same is true of Christian faith.

The teachings, commandments and promises of Jesus determine the basic practices that must be taught and learned. They also establish that to be a Christian means being part of a community that promises to surround you with … love and forgiveness, to pray for you and to do all in their power to increase your faith, confirm your hope and perfect you in love (see The United Methodist Hymnal pages 35 and 38).

If we are to follow Jesus and love those whom he loves as he loves them, we need to learn and practice some basic disciplines: prayer, worship, the Lord’s Supper, reading and studying the Bible, participating in small groups for mutual accountability and support, fasting or abstinence, feeding the hungry and thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing those who have no clothes, caring for the sick, and visiting the prisoners. John Wesley called these basic practices works of piety and works of mercy. He understood that attending to these “means of grace” is “faith working by love” (Galatians 5:6). They are how Christians “work out their salvation” (Philippians 2:12-13).

These basic practices of faith are called “means of grace” because they are gifts given by God through which the Holy Spirit works in disciples to heal and form their character into the character of Christ. They are how disciples live into “having the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5).

One of the purposes of Covenant Discipleship groups is to help disciples learn and practices the basics of Christian faith and life. They do this with others who are seeking to grow in love of God and neighbor. Those who have more experience and maturity in discipleship share their experience with those who are less experienced. As disciples meet together weekly for mutual accountability and support for following Christ in the world they become more and more the persons God created them to be, in Christ. As Christians help one another practice the basics of following Jesus they become more confident and faithful witnesses to and channels of his love for the world.

What’s a Methodist? (part 3 of 4)

I began this series of posts by telling the story of a Wednesday night church dinner conversation with a young woman who asked, “What’s a Methodist?” In reply I said, “A Methodist is a Christian who loves God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind and loves his or her neighbor as himself for herself.” But after giving more thought to the question, long after parting company with the young woman, I realized a more correct response to her query is, “A Methodist is a Christian who is in training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind, and love his or her neighbor as himself or herself.”

I then decided my definition needs some “unpacking.” I am doing so with a series of three posts. In the first post I argue a Christian is a person who follows and witnesses to Jesus Christ in the world and whose life is shaped by the Baptismal Covenant. In this post I’ll say more about how a Methodist is a Christian who is in training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind.

Methodists are people who know that God gives us the ability to love. “We love because he fist loved us” (1 John 4:19). Love is a gift from God. It is grace. Wesley believed that love and grace are the same. Grace is love. Love is grace. We can love because God loved us first. We can love because God made us in God’s image. “God is love” (1 John 4:16b). Methodists know God is love, being created in God’s image, we love because God first loved us.

Love is at the very heart of Methodism. The way of love is the way of Jesus. Methodists, therefore, follow and obey Jesus’ teaching summarized in Matthew 22:37-40. The focus here is on the first commandment:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Notice how many times the word “all” appears in this commandment. “The commend to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is really an invitation to fall in love, to engage one-on-one in a personal sharing that is nothing less than a severe emotional stripping. And like any love affair, it will be ardent and arduous both” (Robin Maas, Crucified Love: The Practice of Christian Perfection, page 47). Loving in this way requires participation in the life of the beloved. Participation means learning and taking on practices that draw us closer and closer to our beloved. As love grows and matures over time we become more and more like the one we love.

God provides the practices we need to obey Jesus and to grow in loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind. John Wesley named these practices “works of piety.” He also referred to them as the “ordinances of God.” He believed all Christians should habitually practice them because Christ commands us to do so in Scripture. They were part of Jesus’ life. He taught them to his disciples so they could learn his way and grow in loving God. The goal is to love God completely and unreservedly. Jesus commanded his disciples to love his way because he knew that humans become what we love.

Methodists are Christians who are training to love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds. Training implies discipline. Love requires discipline. Methodist discipline begins with the works of piety Wesley calls the “ordinances of God” in the Methodist rule of life known as “The General Rules”:

• The public worship of God
• The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded
• The Supper of the Lord
• Family and private prayer
• Searching the Scriptures
• Fasting or abstinence

These practices are the disciplines for loving God. We practice them, first, because Christ commands we do. Secondly, they are how Christians participate in the way of Jesus and the life of God. They direct our daily life toward God, keep us with him, help us to learn Christ (his person and his way of life), and conform our thinking, wants, and motivation to that of Christ. They help us attain toward the goal as described by the Apostle Paul, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). As these practices become habits we become more and more like Jesus in our behavior, thinking, and purpose.

When an athlete or musician is training he or she spends hours each day practicing the basics of his or her discipline. A musician practices scales and chord progressions over and over and over and over again. The purpose is to build mental and muscle memory so that the scales and progressions become second nature. They come as natural as breathing or walking. In the same way, Christians practice the works of piety every day and week, over and over and over and over again until they become holy habits.

Upon closer examination you notice that the first three of the works of piety are social. They are practices that Christians do together in community. The other three are personal. They are practiced when we are alone or with a small group who “watch over one another in love.” Wesley provides a healthy balance between the social and personal dimensions of loving God and growing in holiness of heart and life. This is the same way athletes and musicians train. They put in countless hours of personal practice, balanced with equally long hours of team or ensemble practice. Both contribute to the formation of habits and character. We grow more and more into the persons God created us to be and contribute to the life and mission of the community centered in the life and mission of Jesus Christ.

“The bands of death are torn away, the yawning tomb gives back its prey.”

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Charles Wesley wrote several resurrection hymns. The one I have chosen here is from a 1746 collection. Wesley declares that that God’s power, which is love and life, is more powerful than death. The tomb cannot contain the Lord of life.

Christ crucified and risen has defeated sin and death. Our sins are forgiven. We are set free to live his life of love in and for the world that he loves and intends to save.

On this day of Resurrection, I pray that the Church of Jesus Christ will take to heart Wesley’s call to faithfully respond to the good news that the one who was crucified is risen:

Haste then, ye souls that first believe,
Who dare the gospel-word receive,
Your faith with joyful hearts confess,
Be bold, be Jesus’ witnesses.

A Resurrection Hymn 

All ye that seek the Lord who died,
Your God for sinners crucified,
Prevent the earliest dawn, and come
To worship at his sacred tomb.

While thus ye love your souls t’ employ,
Your sorrow shall be turned to joy:
Now, now let all your grief be o’er!
Believe; and ye shall weep no more

An earthquake hath the cavern shook,
And burst the door, and rent the rock,
The Lord hath sent his angel down,
And he hath rolled away the stone.

The third auspicious morn is come,
And calls your Saviour from the tomb,
The bands of death are torn away,
The yawning tomb gives back its prey.

Could neither seal nor stone secure,
Nor men, nor devils make it sure?
The seal is broke, the stone cast by,
And all the powers of darkness fly.

The body breaths, and lifts his head,
The keepers sink, and fall as dead;
The dead restored to life appear,
The living quake, and die for fear.

No power a band of soldiers have
To keep one body in its grave:
Surely it no dead body was
That could the Roman eagles chase.

The Lord of life is ris’n indeed,
To death delivered in your stead;
His rise proclaims your sins forgiven,
And shows the living way to heaven.

Haste then, ye souls that first believe,
Who dare the gospel-word receive,
Your faith with joyful hearts confess,
Be bold, be Jesus’ witnesses.

Go tell the followers of your Lord
Their Jesus is to life restored;
He lives, that they his life may find;
He lives, to quicken all mankind.

Charles Wesley, 1746

“It is finished”

“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30

What does “it” mean? Is “it” Jesus’ life? Certainly these words from his lips mark the end of his life. But is his life finished? Well, because we read these words from a post-resurrection perspective, we know that his death on the cross is not the end of his life. His life is certainly far from finished. He is very much alive and well and active in this world. No. Jesus’ life is not finished.

Is “it” Jesus’ suffering? Certainly these words mark the end of his suffering on the cross. His death was real. His body and all of its systems ceased to function. His heart stopped beating. His breathing stopped. His brain shut down. The incredible pain he suffered on the cross was finished. But because the risen Jesus is very much alive, his suffering continues. He suffers with and for the world that he loves that is broken and inflicted by injustice, violence, disease, hunger, and greed. No. Jesus’ suffering is not finished.

Is “it” Jesus’ unjust death sentence? Certainly Jesus’ sentence was dutifully executed by the Roman soldiers, with the cooperation of the religious authorities. But as long as religious and government authorities believe it is right and just to take life, to kill in the name of God or of the state, Jesus’ death sentence is not finished.

Is “it” Jesus’ relationship with his disciples? Certainly on that terrible day his male disciples thought so. They all deserted him in his hour of greatest need. They fled and hid from the authorities they feared would do the same to them. The women were the disciples that stayed with Jesus to the end. They wept and prayed for him at the foot of they cross. They cared for his body and helped put it in the tomb. And they were the first witnesses to his resurrection. We know from the perspective of Easter that Jesus’ relationship with his disciples was not finished on the cross.

What does “it” mean? When Jesus said “It is finished” he told those present at Golgotha and us today that God’s work of salvation was accomplished. It is finished. There is nothing more to do.

Jesus’ proclamation from the cross of “It is finished” connected his work with God’s completing the work of creation described in Genesis 1:31-2:2

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.

It’s important to understand that the Greek and Hebrew words translated in English as “finished” do not mean that creation and salvation are static or inactive. Rather they mean that creation and salvation are complete and dynamic processes that invite human participation. We also need to be reminded that both are accomplished by God alone. In other words we cannot create ourselves, nor can we save ourselves. Creation and salvation are God’s work and are pure gift.

The Apostle Paul describes salvation in Ephesians 2:8 where he writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” And in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Salvation is pure gift. All we need to do to get it is to accept it and then to live it. That’s what Paul means by “faith” and “in Christ:” Salvation is a new way of life, lived with Christ and participating with him in his working of preparing this world for the coming reign of God.

Before we can accept this gift of life as it was meant to be lived in the world that God is restoring to wholeness we need to die to the old life ruled by sin and death. Jesus described salvation life in Matthew 11:4-5, “… the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

“It is finished.” What are you going to do about it? I’ll close with these words from Charles Wesley:

Sinners, turn: why will you die?
God, your Maker, asks you why.
God, who did your being give,
Made you himself, that you might live;
He the fatal cause demands,
Asks the work of his own hands.
Why, you thankless creatures, why
Will you cross his love, and die?