John 13:21-32
After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples--the one whom Jesus loved--was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.
Jesus, you handed the sop to Judas but, as I recall, your friends all ate that night and that same night they all forsook you. When it comes time to live as you ask us, we all fail rather miserably. I'm rethinking the "gates of hell" bit. The church may prevail against its own brittle death-dealing self. Sigh. If your Spirit can renew the face of the earth it can certainly renew us. We need to be raised from the dead. Srsly. Domine, ad adjuvandum nos festina!
I pray this knowing that we have already been raised with Christ, but we need to be raised from our habits of death to live as risen people.
--the BB
2 comments:
Oh Paul. I love this. Did you write that last paragraph bit, 'Jesus you handed the sop to Judas' --? It is just the sop I needed tonight.
And I drank deeply on the last line --raised from our habits of death...
Thank you. Love and blessings to you.
Thanks, Margaret. One sign of the Spirit at work is how often we unconsciously provide what someone else needs at that moment. You've done it for me many times.
Yes, I am writing my own HW prayers. I was for years a Lent and Holy Week junkie. This time around all the prayers sound too familiar so I have taken a break from the liturgy of the church to worship as I am moved and pray as my heart speaks.
Thanks for the prayers this week; you know you have mine.
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