It is finished: Friday, Holy Week Vigil

It is finished.

Calvary, John Martin

The Sixth Word:  It is finished.

Read

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” …And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished…. —Genesis 1:26-28, 31—2:1a

When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. —John19:30

Pray

How can we ever find words to express our gratitude to you, dear Lord? You did what we could not do. You defeated our enemy, death by giving yourself to it. You obeyed the father with every single breath until your last breath. Help us live and die with that same devotion and love. We sit today in acknowledging that while death has been ultimately destroyed we still feel its sting. We lament the moments when we thought “Is this it? Is this how it ends?” We wait for every sad ending to be undone.

In the meantime…

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Amen.

Listen

Listen to Last Words - a playlist for our Holy Week Vigil

Reflect

Lament Stories Archive

Featured
'It is finished' by Marcie Walker, Black Coffee with White Friends [Holy Week Vigil 2022]
'It is finished' by Marcie Walker, Black Coffee with White Friends [Holy Week Vigil 2022]

I had a black mother who gave birth to five perfectly healthy babies and lived to tell the tale. Given the disproportionately high maternal mortality rate of black American women that still plagues us today, I am nothing short of a miracle. My daughter is a miracle. Therefore, it shouldn’t be hard at all to believe that Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross given the extraordinarily high rate of crucifixions in His day. However, when I read that He cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” do I believe Him? Is this it? Is this how it all ends? What kind of man is this? 

'It is finished' by Karen Hutton [Retrieve Lament 2021]
'It is finished' by Karen Hutton [Retrieve Lament 2021]

Jesus spoke the words "It is finished" just before he died on the cross. One of the meanings of these words was that his earthly life was over. Death, a cruel enemy, is the end of all our earthly lives. I am lamenting my loss that will never be undone. I am grieving and angry that I never had a dad. I mourn for all who are mourning, and for every life cut short.

It is finished: Marcie Walker [Retrieve Lament 2019]
It is finished: Marcie Walker [Retrieve Lament 2019]

When my mother was sentenced to serve 8-25 years in prison on the charge of involuntary manslaughter, we all said, “This is it,” which in our hearts translated to, “So, this is how it all ends.” She was nearly 60 and all of us, her children, were grown but still asking ourselves,”What kind of woman is this? Troubles ride on the wind and land at her feet.”

It is finished: Wendy Wall [Retrieve Lament]
It is finished: Wendy Wall [Retrieve Lament]

In a way, it’s beautiful to be so empty, so broken. There are no more valiant, heroic measures to try to save the marriage. No more prayers and hopes for a miracle. After twenty-five years, it is finished. No more praying through the book, The Power of the Praying Wife. No more begging for the truth and longing to be loved. No more working too hard to find a way to measure up. Always striving for more: more wealth, more power, more recognition, and more love. No more busy running here and there, over-committing to good things that distract and deflect from the best things.

Retrieve Lament: Jen Thompson's mourning story
Retrieve Lament: Jen Thompson's mourning story

They are heavy memories. I keep them piled like discarded bricks in the back of my mind. Every now and then I try to put them into some kind of shape that makes sense, all the while knowing that there are pieces I won’t ever figure out how to fit together. Despite my faith, there was a descent to dark places. I struggled to understand the purpose of pain, of loss. I questioned God’s goodness and His love for me.

Faith was hard. Sometimes, even seven years later, it still is. There has been only one thought that has brought me any comfort some days, and it is this: I serve a God who watched His only son die.

Retrieve Lament: a mourning story from Shaun Fox
Retrieve Lament: a mourning story from Shaun Fox

People tell me from time to time that I’m just like my father. And there was a time when I didn’t like to hear that. But now I’m proud to say that in many ways, I am like my father.

Holy Week Lament: Sharon O'Connor (It Is Finished)
Holy Week Lament: Sharon O'Connor (It Is Finished)

The doctor surely thought I was just an overwrought patient in denial. He checked his smartphone and looked back at me. I was not going along with a cut and dry visit schedule. I was being a little too blunt about my lack of appreciation for the options. I blubbered on.

“It is the suffering, because of ‘treatment’, that I dread. Not death. By the way – again, no disrespect intended – you doctors don’t go through your own treatment.”

Holy Week Lament: Sharon O'Connor (It Is Finished)
Holy Week Lament: Sharon O'Connor (It Is Finished)

The doctor patiently went on to explain what he thought best for treatment. The course he was charting included radiation and chemo for the second time in two years. There were no words for our grief.

Three months have since passed. Radiation and chemo are, again, complete. More tests lay ahead, but the view from our battered vessel shows a sliver of sunlight breaking through the stormy horizon.

Daily Lectionary for Holy Week

Read: Psalm 22; Psalm 40:1-19; Psalm 54; Genesis 22:1-14; 1 Peter 1:10-20; John 13:36-38
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, The Collect for Good Friday

Almighty God, we beseech you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1)

LentTamara Hill MurphyLent Daybook 2023, Holy Week 2023