Stay happy and in the purest side of Jesus and do not lose your peace, even if the whole world falls apart. – St. Paul of the Cross, Letter 150
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” -Song of Songs 2:14
“So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.” -Exodus 33:22
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” – Exodus 17:6
“…and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” -1 Corinthians 10:4
“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you…. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” – John 14:20, 23
Jesus is our Rock and our Redeemer.[1] With Jesus as our Rock, it follows that his side was pierced for us on the cross, and this wound in his side can be likened to the “cleft of the Rock” that has been opened to us. This path into Him goes all the way to His heart, where His very heart was split open for us and water and blood flowed from His side. The water from the rock that the Israelites drank from is a foreshadowing of the cross and His side being opened up that we may “drink of the Living Water” and live and not die.[2]
His side is the wound that is our cleft in the Rock, who is Christ. We can hide in the cleft of the Rock and be safe. He is our fortress, our deliverer, our safe place of refuge. We can use this in the place of meditation as we consider St. Paul of the Cross’s word: “Stay happy and in the purest side of Jesus and do not lose your peace, even if the whole world falls apart.” We can imagine that we are inside Christ who is our Rock, our Peace, and our Fortress. In His side we understand that we are so close to His heart.
God put Adam to sleep when He brought forth his bride, Eve, from Adam’s side and gave her to him. Likewise, while Jesus “slept” in death on the cross, so also His side was opened and out of His side came forth His Bride, the Church, where blood and water flowed out. What is the significance of the blood and water that flowed from His side? Our salvation comes from the blood of the Lamb and the water of His Spirit, Who regenerates and gives new life: a life that is born from above, of the Spirit, by His Blood.
His opened side is the wound that opens eternal life to us. He hides us there “under the shadow of His wing.”[3]This mystical cleft in the Rock is a place we can rest in, leaning not only “on” our Beloved but “in” Him. He is in us and we are in Him.[4] We can rest in the cleft of the Rock, the pathway into His heart, and be in the safe place from all disturbances of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Oh, the goodness of God to bring us into Him and keep us safely concealed.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, bring me deep into the cleft of the Rock, Your side-wound, that is a fortress I can run into at any time. All the world can be falling apart and it will not touch me if I am in Your side. You cover me, protect me, wash me, renew me, and love me eternally. You keep me under the shadow of Your wings. Amen.
For Meditation:
Can you enter right now into the cleft of the Rock—Jesus’s side wound? Let go of all fear, stress, and anxiety for He has you safely concealed in His side.
[1] Psalms 78:35, 2 Samuel 22:2, Psalms 18:2
[2] Numbers 20:11
[3] Psalms 17:8; Psalms 91:1
[4] John 17:20-23
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Image: Unsplash
This post is taken from the new book, Meditations on the Letters of Saint Paul of the Cross by Amy Knight, available for preorder here.
