The Seven Last Words of Christ

We invite you to take a journey, again and anew, to the cross.

Resurrection is integral to our Christian faith. But you cannot have resurrection without death. There’s something quite powerful, though, about the fact that we spend a whole season of the church year (Lent) reflecting on Christ’s life and death, even while we know the Good News of Resurrection awaits us on Easter morning.

During Holy Week, we slow down even more. We leave Palm Sunday ushered into the Passion of Jesus as we take the journey, again and anew, to the cross. Our stories – yours, mine, each of ours – are entwined in that journey of Christ as Christ journeys with us today.

The seven last words (or phrases) of Christ have been used as a tool for meditation by Christians since around the 17th century. These phrases are drawn from the gospels and capture much of who Jesus was and is. Christians have used these phrases as a way to pray for others, to reflect on their own lives, and, ultimately, to approach the cross of Christ and the empty tomb in a new way. This year we invited our four Pinnacle pastors along with three pastors who worship with Pinnacle who are engaged in ministries of hospice and hospital chaplaincy and spiritual direction to share written meditations on the seven last words.