Meditation on a charcoal drawing

(*)

It is the sixth hour and darkness is over all the earth. Jesus hangs on the tree. His appearance is marred, beyond human semblance. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. See him pierced for your transgressions, crushed for your iniquities, oppressed and afflicted. Yet he opens not his mouth. He is agonizing and dying unjustly. Yet he is forgiving the entire human race. Hear his words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” See how you have unleashed the wrath of God on his body. And yet perceive that he is forgiving you and me and all men as we nail him to the cross. 

Two robbers are crucified with Jesus, one on his right and one on his left. You cannot see them in this picture. They are all humanity with their eyes set on the crucified Jesus. It is as if they were in the company of all who stand before this picture wherever it is displayed. One of them disbelieves, the other believes. One blasphemes the Christ, the other confesses his sin and the innocence of him. Jesus is on the cross saving both; yet one despises the Lord, the other receives redemption by believing in him. To this one Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Dear brethren, behold Christ on this cross with the eyes of faith. Perceive that he is God bringing you into paradise.

It is now the ninth hour. The earth mourns the sufferings of the Son of God. Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And again, he says, “It is finished.” He breaths his last and yields his Spirit. The Father looks on Jesus dead on the cross from above and accepts the sacrifice of his Son, a sacrifice of body and blood unstained, such as you could never offer. Jesus is the world’s redemption and peace. On this cross the world is reconciled to God. 

Darkness covers the earth, the Spirit is hovering over the deep, the temple’s curtain is torn in two, the Holy of Holies lays open to you, the earth quakes, and men are raised from dust to life. God is bringing forth the new creation through the incarnate Word. 

It is dark, but see how light is dispelling darkness. And, soon, will be evening, and there will be morning, the first of days. While the Father looks on Jesus from above and accepts his death as a ransom for all, you stand before this drawing and see Jesus laying on the altar where he is offering you his body and his blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus is on the altar and bids you come: “Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you. Take, drink, this is my blood shed for you.” His body is your food. And your life is in his blood. Eat and drink, all of you, so that you may have eternal life. Jesus is your redemption and your peace. On this altar you are reconciled to God. 

This drawing invites a twofold contemplation. You can see the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as God saw it from above and you can see Jesus laying on the altar giving to you what he offered to the whole world. When he was lifted up he drew all men to himself. Now he is on the altar bidding you come to eat his flesh and drink his blood so that you may share in his life. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is on the cross, and he is on the altar. See how humble and gentle of heart he is as he hangs on the cross. Heed also how humble and gentle are the means by which he offers himself to you on the altar: bread and wine. Yet perceive in them his true body and his true blood, and so perceiving, eat and drink, take hold of eternal life. 

(*) Schumacher, Kelly. Sacrifice On The Altar. 2011. Charcoal on watercolor paper. 28” x 9”. [http://agnusdeiarts.com].