It Is Finished

During Holy Week, All Souls Episcopal Parish has a 3-hour contemplative service on Good Friday. The service is a combination of readings, music, and personal reflection. The reflections are written and read by members of the congregation. This year, the reflections were based on the seven last words of Jesus, so there were seven personal reflections. I was asked by the Rector to participate and prepare a reflection.

Here it is:

"It is finished" (John 19:30)

I’m afraid of death. Not so strong a fear that I'm immobilized, but a fear that sneaks up on me from time to time, most often when I'm trying to fall asleep. My fear stems from not knowing exactly what will happen to me when I die. Thinking of an expanding universe, or infinity, or eternity, often triggers an episode. With almost everything else I don't understand, I can gather information. I can't do that with death. There are no stories. 

I know I'm not alone. I know others share the same fear.

When I first came to faith, I was taught a few things that were supposedly essential doctrines; heaven is real, hell is real, Christians go to heaven, everyone else goes to hell, and if you're afraid of dying, you're not really saved. I spent years doubting my salvation simply because I had a fear of death.

As I've gotten older, the fear has lessened. I attribute that to having a better understanding that my faith is much more about how I live my life in the here and now and not so much about getting into heaven. It's like Jesus is telling us to take care of the things here. Because it is finished, other things have been taken care of. I don’t have to worry.

I’m always amazed at the Lazarus story. If I could change anything about the Lazarus story as recorded in the Gospel, I would have him describe what it was like to be dead. He must have had quite the story. What was Lazarus' experience? What was being dead like?

"It is finished. " According to John's Gospel, these are Jesus' last words. John wrote this gospel in Greek and used the word tetelestai. The word gives the sense that “everything is complete, there’s nothing more to do” John Stott, a British theologian and Anglican Evangelical, says that not only did Jesus finish the work but it “never needs repeating or improvement.”

When Jesus said "it is finished" it wasn't a sigh of resignation. This was a shout of triumph- "IT IS FINISHED!. What was supposed to be an ending became a beginning.

Diana Butler Bass recently wrote a piece about Julian of Norwich. In that article Bass suggests that Jesus didn’t die for us but rather with us. Bass writes “We are with Jesus on the Cross, not at a distance from it, standing by, watching safely from afar; those are our hands and feet nailed, our blood dripping, our voices crying out “We thirst.”

In Galatians Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ.”

It is finished. There’s nothing else to do. It can’t be improved upon. It’s perfect.

I can't say that I'll never have a fear-of-death episode again. But I can say that because it is finished, I put my trust in a God who experienced death and will be with me when I face my own death. Because it is finished, I trust my savior to prepare a way for me. Because it is finished, I believe that Jesus will see me through. Because it is finished, death does not have the last word.