Christ on the cross bows his head, waiting for you, that he may kiss you. He stretches out his arms, that he may embrace you. His hands are open, that he may enrich you. His body is spread out, that he may give himself totally. His feet are nailed, that he may stay there. His side is open for you, that he may let you enter there.
From Soliloquium by Saint Bonaventure Sketch attributed to Michaelangelo Buonarotti
Christ on the cross bows his head, waiting for you, that he may kiss you. Look at images of Christ Crucified; most often his head is bowed in death over his right shoulder or straight down on his chest. However, the sculptor who created the massive crucifix on the façade of St. Peter’s carved the head of Christ facing East, over his left shoulder. The reason he gave was this: Christ is gazing into the Loop, inviting people to enter this holy place for prayer and healing. And how many millions have accepted that invitation since 1953? How often have you thought of Jesus kissing you? Many medieval spiritual writers used metaphors of intimacy in attempts to express the powerful, intense relationship between God and a human being. They used sexual roles interchangeably without our present role restrictions (e.g., only girls play with dolls or only men can be a pilot). Both Francis and Clare of Assisi referred to Jesus as his and her Spouse. Francis tells us friars in his Later Exhortation: We are brothers when we do the will of our Father in heaven. We are mothers when we carry Him in our heart and body through love and a sincere conscience; we give Him birth through a holy activity, which must shine before others by example. Gender roles don’t apply when it comes to loving God and others, nor does gender matter when we express God’s within us. To ponder the thought of Jesus kissing me is not shocking to a Franciscan. We only have faith, reason and language to express God’s love and a kiss is simply a very tender expression of that love.
He stretches out his arms, that he may embrace you. The Covid pandemic has created a very touch-deprived population. We can’t greet another person during Mass or other social situations with a handshake, hug or kiss. All the more reason to take comfort in this line from St. Bonaventure. Contemplate any image of the Crucified Christ. I often encourage people to see the arms of Jesus as embracing just YOU. Let the love of God flowing through our Suffering Servant flow into you, comfort you, let you know that you are never alone with your pain and suffering. Jesus screamed out in desolation from the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Yet when we cry out because of our suffering with the frailties of human life, we are never, ever alone. Never. Let Jesus embrace and hold you.
His hands are open, that he may enrich you. I have a crucifix from Germany and the hands of Jesus are hugely disproportionate to his body. Those hands have always been symbolic (for me) of how immensely generous our God is to us. The very gifts of our life, our body and our being came through the creative hands, so to speak, of the Divine Artist. The four Gospels are full of stories of Jesus touching people whose lives were healed in many ways. His hands took bread, blessed, broke and offered it to thousands who hungered for a better life; this image of those hands is remembered every single time Christians gather for the Eucharist. When we are baptized, confirmed, absolved, wedded, ordained and anointed it is the hands of Christ that touch us. The Sacraments involve the physical touching presence of Christ. All the more reason to embrace the Sacraments frequently! How does Jesus enrich us? Through the Word of God, the stories of Jesus in the Gospels. He gives us examples of forgiveness, healing, brave preaching, the audacity to stand up for justice, to speak prophetically about the Reign of God, to touch people who are ostracized by the world, to console the hungry and lonely, to break boundaries, to accept suffering willingly and to offer one’s life in service to God and others – all these enrich and enable us to be Christ for others. Enrich is defined as “to improve the quality of life …” Certainly the Lord improves our lives through his Presence in the Sacraments and the loving, healing touch of other believers. We are called to enrich others with all that God lavishly pours into our hearts.
His body is spread out, that he may give himself totally. St. Bonaventure actually borrows this thought from A Letter to the Entire Order by Saint Francis himself. Months before he died in October 1226 Francis penned this marvelous letter. In one section he expounds beautifully on the humility of Christ in the Eucharist and exhorts the friars: Brothers, look at the humility of God, and pour out your hearts before Him. Humble yourselves that you may be exalted by Him. Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally! What a magnificent way to approach God and the Eucharist in particular! In praying before the Crucified Christ consider how he freely accepted his Passion and Death. In turn, we are gifted with the Paschal Mystery, understanding that Resurrection is the final gift for giving every ounce of our lives in return. Total surrender brings Eternal Life with our Creator in this act of mutual, complete self-giving.
His feet are nailed, that he may stay there. Jesus “accepted death, even death on a cross” that we might live forever. In the face of social disgrace, complete rejection by his religious leaders, townspeople, disciples and the Roman Empire, he chose to bear the unbearable. A sham of a trial, betrayal and abandonment by his closest friends, horrid torture and public shame – all these torments ended with one of the most disgusting, vile and cruel executions ever devised by humans. Jesus chose to complete God’s commission for you, for us, for the world by accepting all this physical and mental anguish. When I contemplate his endurance and complete surrender of every drop of blood, every ounce of his life, I can’t find one reason to complain about anything. Anything! Who am I that Christ loves me so much? Who are any of us to doubt his love or complain about anything?
His side is open for you, that he may let you enter there. We are God’s creations whom God wants to be in union with at all times. God freely gave the only-begotten Son to bring about universal salvation and we have been baptized into the Mystery of the Lord’s Passion-Death-Resurrection-Glorification, a rhythm, a pathway of life. St. Bonaventure’s image of Christ’s side literally unlocks the door to the Mystery. You and I know the Passion Narratives. Bonaventure conjures up the scene in which a soldier speared Jesus in the chest to make sure he was dead; he encourages the person at prayer before the Cross to contemplate that wound. Think of the human body, its tissue, the six gallons of blood coursing through veins and arteries, the nerves and muscles. Violently torn open the body will pour forth its life source. His side is open for you. For YOU. Bonaventure reminds us again how much Jesus loves each of us. …that he may let you enter there. And this is what I consider to be a perfect ending to these six sentences. Jesus personally invites everyone to enter into his Body, the Church. He invites the person at prayer to enter the Paschal Mystery that helps us shape and make sense out of human existence. Christ invites you to let yourself be immersed into the ocean of God’s love that knows no boundaries. The Lord of Life invites you to join your aches and pains, disappointments, frustrations and even dying days with his suffering so you know you are never alone. Never will you suffer by yourself as long as you daily accept his invitation to enter into his wounds, his death so that you might also enter and accept his invitation to eternal life with God. May these words of St. Bonaventure and my reflections on them assist you in your own Lenten journey into the Paschal Mystery of Christ Jesus. Find your favorite image of Christ Crucified and pray these words often. You will be rewarded, I promise. Fr. Bob Hutmacher, ofm
Consult St. Peter’s bulletin and web site for Holy Week & Easter, March 28 – April 4.