Cross + Culture

The 7 Sayings: It is finished; I commit my spirit.

What are we doing here?

This is a time to share and wrestle together. No one expects a quick fix or a ‘sweep it under the rug’ approach to real questions.

Tonight, we’re going to wrestle a bit with the last two sayings of Jesus: “it is finished” and “Into your hands, I commit my Spirit.” When he says, “it is finished,” it means he has completed the work God sent him to do. “Finished,” Tetelestai – is a perfect form of the word “telos.” The chief end, the fullest expression of a life—the end game. Jesus fulfilled his purpose.

When St. Francis of Assisi was dying, he looked around at the monks who were at his bedside and said,

“I have done what is mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours.”

Since this is our last discussion in this Lent series, I thought it would be appropriate to spend some time thinking through our telos.

Ground Rules

Be honest.

• Be honest.

• Speak in "I" statements about your own experience, not generalizations about groups of people.

• Some of our thoughts or opinions may conflict with another's. Listen to understand, not to correct or convince.

• Let's be more about connection than competition. This is not a space to argue who is right but to wrestle with our questions faithfully.

• And please, what's shared here stays here—honor each other's vulnerability

Scripture Reading

John 19:28-30

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Luke 23:44-46

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Discussion

Lighter

• What book (can’t say Bible) do you think every person needs to read?

• What is an adventure on your bucket list you hope to experience one day?

• If your future self could give you advice for this coming season, what do you think they would say?

Deeper

• When you pass away, what is one thing you hope your loved ones say about you?

• What are 1-2 areas of your life where you feel the largest gap between who you are and who Jesus is inviting you to become?

Journaling Questions

Let’s take some time to reflect and write.

We've been naming what we hope to accomplish, what we want to be known for. But Jesus also shows us something else: how to face the bitter things without becoming bitter ourselves.

• What are the bitter things you’ve had to swallow? Have they made you bitter or invulnerable?

• Where have your wounds or the abuses you’ve experience prevented you from trusting God and loving your neighbor?

Prayer and Commissioning

Prayer Reflection

In you, Beloved, I would make my home; Though I be humiliated with guild, your mercy and forgiveness will deliver me!

Hear me and hasten to my assistance! For you are my strength and have the power to raise me up!

Yes, you are a strength and truth to me; you are my teacher, my guide; the Fire of your abiding love cleanses my heart;

Loosen the webs that entangle me, that veil my love for you.
Into your Heart I commend my soul.

You have redeemed me, O Love, O ever Faithful One.

~ Psalm 31:1-5

Commissioning

This is our last gathering for Cross + Culture. Over these seven weeks, we've brought our anger, our anxiety, our relational wounds, our doubts, our longings, and tonight—our sense of purpose and our bitterness.

This week, carry Jesus' final words with you: "It is finished" and "Into your hands I commit my spirit."

Ask yourself: What is mine to do? And am I doing it faithfully, even when things get bitter?

And when you don't know the answer, pray Psalm 31. Commend your spirit into God's hands. Trust that even when things feel unfinished, God is working.

Thank you for wrestling with us. Thank you for your honesty. Go in peace.