Holy Week: Seven Days in the Sayings (Day 7 of 7) Father, Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit
Guest Contributor: This post is from my Good Friend, Fellow
Musician and Brother; Joel Pakan!
Then Jesus, crying
with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having
said this, he breathed his last. - Luke 23:46 NRSV
Father, Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit
Have you ever been baffled by God? Maybe the better question is this: have you ever not been baffled by God? The context for these last words of Jesus on the cross are confounding and impossible. After all that Jesus has experienced, even after the doubt laden plea of “my God, why have you forsaken me”, Jesus still knows and trusts that God can and will hold his spirit. Luke is the only gospel writer who gives us these words from Jesus lips. Matthew and Mark give no similar reference and John’s gospel has Jesus embody these words in an unspoken act: “then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30 NRSV). I’m not suggesting that the absence of these words in the other accounts discredit Luke’s version. I mention this at the beginning because I think it indicates that Luke is trying to give us a different perspective on Jesus, the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NRSV).
I think one of the things Luke is highlighting in Jesus’ last words is how tragically and impossibly complete Jesus is on the cross. There is a harsh beauty in the symmetry here: Jesus' death mirrors the beginning of his ministry where he is tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–13) because in both settings Luke highlights Jesus faithfulness to God in word and deed. I do not want to even begin to imagine the physical horror of what his body was experiencing in the hours of his crucifixion. His body was truly broken beyond repair and this brokenness had been inflicted upon him as an act of complete injustice due to his complete innocence of all the charges that had been levied against him. The emotional and psychological toll of the moment was also too much to bear. Jesus knew he was innocent and bleeding out. He was about to complete this very human journey as a complete wreck of a man. There were only seconds left before his lungs would spasm for the last time and his heart would cease in it’s beating. In this moment he raises his body up this last time, complete agony in the wounds of his hands and feet and shouts, wales, exhales: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
In this completely earth-bound moment, Jesus does the unexpected and elevates us all. Rather than making his last breath a parting shot that condemns his accusers and the injustice of this world he makes a closing statement that opens the floodgates of a whole new world. He relocates himself into the Eternal’s capable hands and draws our attention there too. We thought he was just another prophet, many still do; turns out, he’s so much more. He does not abandon his role as teacher but in this last precious moment he quotes a Psalm. Those physically closest to him, standing, kneeling, weeping, jeering; all would have likely stopped for just a moment to hear these last words. They lean in and so do we to hear the first half of a verse of a song: Psalm 31.
Songs are sticky things; they get stuck in our heads. The melodies transcend; they are the perfect vehicles for the transition from death to life. Jesus says “Father, into your hands…” and all those gathered ‘round are already starting to say the words with him. Our mouths open and so too our spirits as we start to sing “…I commend my spirit.” And we complete the verse in our minds eye, as Jesus knew his hearers would, with the second half of Psalm 31:5 “…you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” YES!!! God has done for us what we could not and cannot do for our selves. God has redeemed us. Thanks be to God!
As we walk through this Holy Saturday, may we commit the words of Psalm 31 into our spirits as Jesus did. And if you’re looking for a more modern psalm to accompany you on your commute. Here’s one to add to your playlist by the Vigilantes of Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3A09dj0HQ4
Parting Shot
…And the world like a tempest in your ears doth roar
And the flesh wants to dress up and play your whore
And the devil wants to cast all manner of doubt
On the real lover with the key dying to let you out
From the bars that you fashioned with your stolen clout
Well, I may be confused but I'll play my hunch
Did it feel like a kiss or a counter-punch?
…See, I'm gone all threadbare and my shoes are worn
Now the flowers are growing right out of these bones
And I hear the trumpet sounding like Louis Armstrong
When the great divorce happens, hide me in your song
Though I don't deserve it and I don't belong
I want to leave you with something
Will you take it to heart?
Are you a closing statement or a parting shot?
Joel Pakan
@joelpakan
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