The Five Wounds Meditation

Introduction

This liturgical meditation is based on the Journey in Four Directions and the Silent Centre, using the Five Wounds of Christ on the cross as its focus and structure. It is written for up to seven leading voices and congregation, though the role of the Reader can be taken by the Second and Third speakers, and the role of the Leader by any one of the speakers (probably the fifth).

The position of the speakers should reflect the Five Wounds: the First at the centre back of the worship space, the Second and Third on opposite sides slightly further forward, the Fourth near the front centre, the Fifth at the intersection of imaginary lines drawn from First to Fourth and from Second to Third. This helps spatially-minded people like me enter more fully into the meditation.

An image of the cross or crucifixion, with the appropriate areas specially illuminated at the right times, may also assist.

Hymns and other elements of the service may be interspersed between the parts of the meditation, as follows:

• After the Downward Journey section, I suggest When I Behold the Wondrous Cross.
• Something based on Psalm 139 would be suitable after the Inward Journey section (or the psalm itself), and this would also be a good time for a prayer of confession.
• Graham Kendrick's Servant King perhaps after the Outward Journey section, along with prayers for others.
• Any song of praise and majesty after the Upward Journey section (Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven springs to mind).
• Silence, of course, after the Silent Centre section.

The Meditation

The First:

The thorns crown the head of Christ,

And as we meditate upon them we begin the downward journey with him,

As God grants to us humility, working it in us, even in us,

Granting to us the mind that was in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a thing to be seized,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a servant,

entering into human likeness; and, found in appearance as a human

humbled himself,

and became obedient to the point of death,

the death of a cross.

[Silence]

So,

All: We journey downward, down to our own emptying,

Down to the silence and the stillness.

And he goes before us.

The Second:

The nail pierces the hand of Christ,

And as we meditate upon it we begin the inward journey with him,

As God grants to us insight, working it in us, despite us,

Enabling us through his grace to know ourselves, and speaking to us through his apostle:

Reader:

"If we claim to share our lives with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we share our lives with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

[Silence]

The Second: So,

All: We journey inward, into our own hearts,

Into the silence and the stillness.

And he goes before us.

The Third:

The nail draws blood out of the hand of Christ,

And as we meditate upon it we begin the outward journey with him,

As God grants to us love, working it in us, even in us,

Sending us by his grace into his world, which he loved and died for,

Speaking to us through his apostle:

Reader

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ gave up his life for us. And we ought to give up our lives for our brothers.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth."

[Silence]

The Third: So:

All: We journey outwards, out into the world,

Out from the silence and the stillness.

And he goes before us.

The Fourth:

The nail pierces the feet of Christ,

And as we meditate upon it we begin the upward journey with him,

As God leads us on with joy, working it in us, despite us,

Enabling us through his redemption to be seated with Christ,

Whom God lifted up to the pinnacle,

and gifted with the name above all names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

[Silence]

So,

All: We journey upwards, up to the light,

Up to the silence and the stillness.

And he goes before us.

The Fifth: The spear pierces the side of Christ,

And as we meditate upon it it pierces our own souls also.

We are washed with water and with blood.

We are at our destination, and God stands with us, fulfilling us,

Enabling us through his strength to be his children.

[Silence]

So:

All: We stand in the heart of Christ,

In the silence and the stillness.

And he is with us.

Leader: He is with us.

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