HIS WOUNDS AND TEARS

 

The wounds He earned so long ago

Are with Him still today;

The tears are shed for evermore

For lambs that go astray.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Wept by Mindi Oaten)

TRUST

 

"There is a story told that a company of botanists seeking some special flowers up in the Canadian Rockies, came one day to a very rare flower down on the side of a cliff.  To reach it they would have to retrace their steps and go back ten miles to come up from the valley below.  Someone suggested that if they had a rope they could let a boy down to pick the specimens.  That suggestion was prompted by the fact that a little boy had been following them for about an hour, watching them silently.  They got the rope and said:

 

'Here lad, we'll give you $5 if you will put this rope around you and permit us to let you down to get those flowers'. Without saying a word the lad scampered off.  They thought they had frightened him.  He went to a house nearby and soon came back with a man by his side.  Then the little fellow answered: ‘You may put that rope around me, and I'll get the flower, if you'll let my dad hold the rope'." (President David O. McKay, CR. April 1944)

 

When you study the scriptures you can see so clearly the intimate and close connection the Saviour had with the Father whilst in mortality. He spoke of Him incessantly. Once I counted 163 references that He made to the Father during His visit to the Americas. Fifteen of those referenced His obedience to Him which included the sacrifice He was to offer and save the rest of us (John 10:17-18).

 

The closeness Jesus felt to the Father during His life was such that when He told His disciples that they will scatter and leave Him in the end, He said with assurance: “….yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” and “He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him (John 8:29; 16:32).

 

This is a clear indication that Jesus felt sure the Father would be with Him during His atoning sacrifice  and so perhaps it was not just sheer obedience but also trust that there will be a rope around Him to the very end. Perhaps this trust played a big part in enabling Him to say, “not mine, but Thy will be done” as He began to submit to His excruciating ordeal (Matthew 26:39).  

Imagine then the shock when He was descending into the bottomless pit of human suffering to discover there was no rope around Him, like in the Garden, and no Father to catch Him….when He uttered that heart breaking question asking why the Father had forsaken Him (Matthew 27:46). There are reasons why it had to be so but the startling point is, the Saviour was utterly and totally alone.

Here again there had to be trust even though the rope was not there. There had to be trust that He could finish His crucible until every soul was atoned for and until He could give His all in the voluntary surrender of His life (John 10:18). There had to be trust until He could say: “It is finished” (John 19:30)

I have been puzzled by the concept of suffering my entire life. I used to think there had to be a better way to exaltation, for the Saviour and for us. Over time I received glimpses here and there about that necessity but none of these intellectual explanations seemed to make a dent into my understanding pertaining to my life. The other day I had a revelation about it so intense and so poignant that it took the explanation of my life to another level.

Through it I learnt something extremely important: the Eternal Father knows me to the depths of my soul and the plan for my life which I agreed to before I was born was so finely crafted that it has the power to prepare me for something much greater. I came away from that experience sobbing and understanding His mercy for the life He had planned for me. All I have to do is trust that there is a rope around my waist like Christ ‘who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross’ (Hebrews 12:2).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Thy Will Be Done by Jay Bryant Ward)

 

THE VEIL

 

I stood at the veil

As You were about to leave

Sorrowing that not all would believe.

 

I prayed for Father’s power

To protect Your gentle heart

From the blow that might tear You apart.

 

I knew my soul You would save

And all Your promises You would fulfil

I stood at the veil, unable to leave,

Holding Your crown for You to receive.

 

I stood and waited that fateful day

In awe of what You did to pave the way.

I could scarcely comprehend

Your godly enduring might

I stood at the veil and gave You my heart.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Symphony of Suffering by Aeron Brown)

GODLY SUFFERING

 

In Section 19 of Doctrine and Covenants, the Saviour revealed the most personal details of His suffering during the Atonement. Here He dismissed ‘the insinuation’ that His sweat was ‘like’ drops of blood, as mentioned by Luke in his Gospel, and confirmed that indeed His agony was so great that He sweat actual blood from His pores (v 18; Luke 22:44).

I have experienced pain in my life but I cannot fathom such extreme form of it. This is how Elder James E. Talmage described it:

“Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause….He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing.

“No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world’ could inflict….. (Jesus the Christ, p 613)

And here is another horrific thing about it. This excruciating spiritual pain was added to the physical pain of the crucifixion as He hung on the cross: “Again, on Calvary, during the last three hours of his mortal passion, the sufferings of Gethsemane returned….if we interpret the holy word aright, that all of the anguish, all of the sorrow, and all of the suffering of Gethsemane recurred during the hours when darkness covered the land….could it be that this was the period of his greatest trial, or that during it the agonies of Gethsemane recurred and even intensified!” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “Mortal Messiah” 4:232, note 22; see also Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 661 and Tad R. Callister, “The Infinite Atonement” p 141)

There is another scripture in Section 19 of Doctrine and Covenants which I find most alarming. In His vehement command to us to repent, the Saviour explained that if we would not repent, we must suffer even as He suffered, to pay for our own sins (v 17). This drives fear into me. I have suffered in my life and the last thing I would want is to undergo suffering at such great scale as I have never experienced before.

Herein enters Christ’s unfathomable mercy. Verses 4-12 offer great insight into God’s punishment. Here we are told that the punishment given from God’s hand is ‘eternal and endless punishment’ because Eternal and Endless are two of His names. It does not mean that a sinner is to be eternally and endlessly made to suffer.

I worshipped You in heaven

As my Saviour and my King.

I knew Your holy suffering

Would pay for everything.

 

Now I am here in my mortal frame,

I am amazed at the price You paid

For the value of my name!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Hail King of the Jews by Mindi Oaten)

A SUPPER OF LOVE

 

Because the Saviour instituted the Sacrament following the Last Supper, the early members of the Church maintained a practice of having a meal together followed by the Sacrament. Paul advised the Corinthians against this practice, however, as the meals were sometimes consumed before all the saints arrived, resulting in discord among them (1 Corinthians 11:17-22).

This was contrary to the culture of the Near East where dining together was an expression of unity, peace and friendship. It was during a meal together that any problems and disagreements were resolved and all parties were reconciled.  Paul referred to the sacrament as ‘communion’ not just between individuals and Christ but also between fellow saints (1 Corinthians 10:17).

Since we collectively, by baptism, become the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and since the sacrament is a renewal of our baptismal covenants, each time we partake of the sacrament, we affirm our communion with one another and with the Saviour, and thus become one. The Sacrament, therefore, becomes ‘a meal’ of unity, peace and friendship.  So united, we enjoy greater communion with Him who has brought us together by virtue of His sacrifice. (See the New Testament Institute Manual for above scripture references and their explanations)

In John's account of the Last Supper in chapters 13-15 Jesus used the word 'love' 20 times in 14 verses. This made it clear indeed that what He was about to do for them through His infinite sacrifice was a token of love and should be a token of love forever more. Then the admonition to all who would accept that love through the emblems of the sacrament: "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); "...this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).

Jesus predicted that in our day people will not keep the commandments and because 'iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold' (Matt 24:12). His discourse on love in relation to the sacrament should be something we as the saints of latter-days seriously think about because of our responsibility to become a Zion people. 

I had always considered the Sacrament a very individual and personal ordinance between me and the Lord. The greatest spiritual connection I have felt with the Saviour was during the pandemic lockdowns when I was fortunate enough to sit at my daughter’s kitchen table and partake of the sacrament with her, her husband and my grandchildren. Each time, my emotions would surge to the point of tears.

I was reminded of the very first Sacrament where the Saviour sat at just such an ordinary table and blessed the emblems of His sacrifice. As my son-in-law passed the sacrament to me on the kitchen plate I came to know what it means to ‘eat His body’ as I have eaten off that kitchen plate before.

I didn’t fully understand it at the time but upon reflection I came to understand that the greatest reason my emotions surged was the unity I felt with those I love during my most sacred moment when I felt united in spirit with Christ. This is the power of the Sacrament….to unite us through His sacrifice with a bond that can never be broken. This is what is meant to be the body of Christ.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: In Remembrance by Brent Borup)

THE BIRTH OF HOPE

 

 

Out of all my childhood memories, I cherish the ones of Easter the most. I was born and raised in Croatia. I was 13 when my family immigrated to Australia. What remains etched in my heart the most about the home of my birth is the land and its’ nature….every wheatfield I ran through, every tree I climbed, every patch of grass with blooming spring flowers……it is all so firmly locked in my memory.  

When I read the Bible, I know what harvests are and what seasonal festivals are and what shepherds are. And I understand many spiritual truths that were taught by the Saviour using the metaphors that related to agrarian way of life. I know it because I grew up with it.

Easter was a magical time in my youth. It was a time when the snow left and spring came. A time when baby chicks were born and violets emerged from the earth to herald a renewal of life. A time when my mother made me and my sisters new dresses to wear to Church Sunday morning with our Easter baskets laden with food for the priest to bless.

I cannot remember it ever raining on Easter Sunday. The sun shone always, like it wanted to remind us that it was a day of re-birth. It was a time when nature allowed me to see God’s glory.

 Easter Sundays for me overshadowed Good Friday and Christ’s death. As important as that was, Easter Sunday was what I remembered the most because the happiness and knowledge of Christ’s resurrection whispered in spring air.

Now that I am an adult and understand the hope of resurrection for myself, my heart is full of gratitude and hope for eternal life that was born at Calvary. I know that He lives and has overcome the sting of death for my sake. His suffering to make that possible is something I can never repay but the power He gained to exalt me on high is something I will be grateful for forever.

When You rose from Your grave

With healing in Your wings,

Did I live on in Your heart

As you ascended to Your throne

To seal my destiny?

Did You carry us all in Your bosom

With the crucible of the cross

Forever etched in Your memory?

 

Your gift, the beauty of this earth,

That we might always feel You near;

With every movement of the trees

And the rustle of its leaves,

I hear You whisper:

“I am here”

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Blossoms of Life by Greg Collins)

THE HUMILITY OF A KING

 

I have always wondered how the Saviour coped with trading the royal courts on high for the baseness of this earthly life.  I find the pictures of Palm Sunday confronting. Somehow, I prefer the Saviour to be seen in His majesty and power rather than on the loweliest animal of the earth heading to His death.

I want to see Him in all His power and glory as the Rock of Heaven (Moses 7:53)….as He will appear when He comes.  At the same time I am in awe of the magnitude of humility that was required of Him to lower himself to such a paltry acknowledgement of His kingly status when the magnitude of people acknowledged Him to be the son of David on His last entry into Jerusalem (Matt 21:9, 15)

The ass has been recognized as ‘the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty’ denoting that a king is the servant of the people hence the connection to humility (James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 517). When Jesus entered Jerusalem that fateful Sunday He marked His hour of death. Another sign of humility -  He entered as the Prince of Peace rather than a King with a fanfare of trumpets ready for battle.

“Dismounting, He entered afoot the temple enclosure; shouts of adulation greeted Him there. Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the official representatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, were incensed; there was no denying the fact that the people were rendering Messianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene….” (James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” p 516)

“The manner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of the law and the prophets; for Zechariah’s impressive forecast….was frequently cited among them: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9)

And so no other nation on earth who would crucify their God (2 Nephi 10:3) accused Him of three crimes worthy of death: 1. They claimed that He was a sinner who wouldn’t conform to the rabbinical laws and traditions (Mark 7:1-9); 2. They proclaimed Him to  be the incarnation of Satan and that He performed His miracles by the power of Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24-27); 3. They accused Him of blasphemy in claiming equality with God, that He was the Son of God and that He WAS God (see John 8 amongst many others).

Even though He knew ‘to this end was He born and for this cause came He into the world’ I would still like to know with what heaviness of heart He sat upon that donkey….(John 18:37)

Did you miss

Your godly robes

That you traded for

The swaddling cloths of Calvary?

Was the ground rough beneath

Your feet as You traversed

The dusty roads of Galilee?

 

The baseness of This earth,

So willingly suffered despite hostility.

Yet, You came

The Father to reveal

And to Him forever

Our yielding hearts to seal.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Triumphant Entry by Liz lemon Swindle)