ENID, Okla. — First Presbyterian Church, 502 W. Maine, is offering the public an opportunity to meditate on Christ's final hours on the cross with a free recital of Joseph Haydn's "Seven Last Words of Christ" at 6:30 p.m. March 28.
"Seven Last Words of Christ" is a musical piece commissioned in 1786 for the Good Friday service in the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva, an underground Catholic church in Cádiz, Spain.
The title refers to the last seven sayings of Christ from the cross, which, along with recitation of the 14 Stations of the Cross, is a common reflection among Catholic, Anglican and some Protestant churches during Holy Week.
The Rev. Andrew Long, pastor at First Presbyterian, will be performing Haydn's composition on the piano, along with narration by Christianne Chase of reflections on the meaning of each of the seven passages.
"Many church traditions ... have hourly meditations for each of the last seven words of Jesus," Long said.
He said Haydn's musical adaptation of those meditations is a powerful way to recall Jesus's suffering on the cross and has become one of Haydn's "most popular pieces of music."
The piece recalls seven passages from the crucifixion narratives of Matthew, Luke and John:
• "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34
• "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:43
• Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son." Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." John 19:26-27
• "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34
• "I thirst." John 19:28
• When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished;" and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit. John 19:30
• Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23:46
Long said those seven passages give Christians unique insight into Jesus Christ as they make preparations for Good Friday.
"The last words of Jesus offer us some of the most human nuance of who Jesus was," Long said. "He said things like 'I thirst,' and as I reflect on that I thirst physically but also, like him, I thirst spiritually for the assurance that God is with us in our worst moments."
While the piece recalls Jesus's suffering, Long said it also offers a more powerful message of hope in Jesus' last words: "Father into your hands I commend my spirit."
"That is a wonderful reminder that in no moment in this was Jesus out of control," Long said. "He was in control through all of this, and when he was ready he gave up his spirit. That's a victory message for me."
The recital will be in the main sanctuary at First Presbyterian and is free and open to the public.
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