LENT - WEEK OF MARCH 13, 2022

LOVE UNSWERVING

Each of the articles in this resource reflects on a piece of music to explore the meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection.

"Ah Holy Jesus, How Have You Offended?" - Fernando Ortega

AH, HOLY JESUS, HOW HAVE YOU OFFENDED?

Ah, holy Jesus,

How have you offended,

That mortal judgment

Has on you descended?

By foes derided,

By your own rejected,

O most afflicted!

Who was the guilty?

Who brought this upon you?

It is my treason,

Lord, that has undone you.

’Twas I, Lord Jesus,

I it was denied you;

I crucified you.

For me, dear Jesus,

Was your incarnation,

Your mortal sorrow,

And your life’s oblation;

Your death of anguish

And your bitter passion,

For my salvation.

Therefore, dear Jesus,

Since I cannot pay you,

I do adore you

And will ever pray you,

Think on your pity

And your love unswerving,

Not my deserving.

Also called “Ah, Holy Jesu, How Hast Thou Offended?” | Johann Heermann, translated by Robert Bridges

LOVE UNSWERVING Study Questions

• Is there a work of art or a film that helps you picture the

events of Jesus’ passion? Describe it, detailing the ideas or

feelings it conveys.

• Read Luke 22:39–23:26. Consider what the disciples, soldiers,

or onlookers might have experienced as they participated in

these events. Select a person from this passage and describe

what you might have felt or thought if you were in their place.

• Fernando Ortega emphasizes, “Jesus’ gruesome death was

not something that happened randomly or accidentally. . . .

Jesus knew very well what was coming his way.” Read John

10:14–18 and 15:13. Why is it crucial to understand that Jesus’

life wasn’t “taken” from him?

• Read Isaiah 50:6–7 alongside Philippians 2:6–8. What

most strikes you about the humility—and the humiliation—

of Jesus?

• “Ah, Holy Jesus” demands a painful recognition: It was

because of our sin, it was for our salvation, that Jesus endured

his “bitter passion.” What’s your response to reading or singing

this song?

• “What would I have said were I in Simon’s shoes?” Ortega wonders.

What would you most want to say to Jesus if you were

somehow able to be there as he journeyed toward Calvary?

This study is from "The Wondrous Cross: Reflections on Christ’s Sacrifice Drawn from the Songs and Hymns of Easter"