(Audio)
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
But it is each one of us. We are all guilty of betraying the love and confidence Jesus showed us when he invited us to be numbered among his intimate companions. We all had our own ideas about the way Jesus would fix everything wrong with the world and with our lives. And when Jesus doesn't go with our plan we look for ways to monetize our investment.
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
When push comes to shove it is revealed that much of our motivation for following Jesus is in fact selfish. It is OK for us to desire the blessings that the LORD offers us. It is legitimate to follow him because our lives and full of more joy and peace than they could be otherwise. But what happens during the dark night? Do we then draw back? We are meant for more. We are meant for a love that can persist and endure, carrying our own crosses out of love for Jesus.
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."
Unlike Judas we have some understanding of God's abundant mercy. When God doesn't go our way we may feel a little animosity or anger toward him. But we behold Jesus absorbing all of that anger, taking it on himself to make us right with God again.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
We need to realize that at times we are the ones spitting when we do not choose God's will. We are the ones who beat him when we try to make things work by our own power apart from God. We need to realize this, because seeing it, we can see that his love for us is nevertheless undiminished. He prays for our forgiveness even from the cross. His arms are open to welcome us back.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not."
No comments:
Post a Comment