Father, may we receive your forgiveness and mercy as we celebrate the passion and death of our Lord. Amen
John 13:21-33, 36-38Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?”Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,“Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”
Holy Week. We are approaching the anniversary of the most important event in history. A moment that shook the world. An event that changes us on a very personal level. We all came into Lent wanting to increase our focus on God; to work on our relationship with God. Yet many of us are drifting. We made commitments to strengthen us at this time of year, to help us focus on Christ’s time of trial. Some of us gave up things to sharpen that focus, others added commitments - to study the scriptures daily. Have we lost our focus? Did we let the business of the world drown out God’s voice?
If we really want to work on our relationship with God, we need to set aside time for God. Time for prayer, time for scripture, or time to just sit and listen. Has our Lent been like the disciples’ Last Supper? Jesus is showing us, but we are not taking the time to see it? Jesus has laid out a banquet before us, but we sit at the feast crying out that we are starving for truth. Now, as we approach Easter, we have a choice. We can beat ourselves up over Lent or we can repent and do better. We can recognize our weaknesses and just quit. Or we can recognize them, ask for forgiveness and move forward to a better relationship and greater things. Not much of a choice when you think about it. And what a gift it is to have that choice.
This is what it is all about. Jesus loves us. Jesus wants a relationship with us. Jesus died so that our sins can be forgiven. Jesus rescues us: the gift of salvation. What an incredibly freeing thing. Today’s prayer is for us who are struggling with our relationship with God. It is that we will recognize and accept this gift. That we will not allow the distractions of the world to steal our joy.
Have a blessed and happy Easter.
God of such unwavering love, how do we "celebrate" the passion and death of Jesus? We often want to look the other way and not watch, not stay with Jesus in his suffering. Give us the strength to see his love with honesty and compassion and to feel deeply your own forgiveness and mercy for us. Help us to understand how to "celebrate" this week as we journey with Jesus so aware of his love for us. Amen
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