Holy Week Devotional: Wednesday
Wednesday: Upheaval
Scripture: John 13: 21-32
What do you do after everything you know has changed?
Jesus had to look a dear friend in the face, knowing he would soon betray him.
Survivors often must look upon their ruined homes, scattered belongings, life thrown into chaos and destruction.
This is often the most challenging stage of recovery because it requires us acknowledging that things will never be the same again. The world as we know it has ceased to exist.
There is new life beyond the upheaval, but first we must sort through the muck.
Today, I want us to picture ourselves as one of the disciples who has just heard Jesus’ admonition that he will be betrayed. How do you feel? What is going through your mind?
If I am honest, I will admit that it’s hard for me to understand a journey that moves forward into darkness, a journey where things get a heck of a lot harder and darker before they ever get better.
But that is the journey of the cross.
We take steps that seem to lead straight into the pit of hell and wonder why Jesus calls this God’s glory. What can God do in this murk and much, this pain and undoing?
One thing is certain: things will never be the same again.
Prayer:
Troubled God,
in every generation
you call your people to contend
against the brutality of sin and betrayal.
Keep us steadfast even in our fear and uncertainty,
that we may follow where Jesus has led the way. Amen.
(From The Revised Common Lectionary)
What do you do after everything you know has changed?
Jesus had to look a dear friend in the face, knowing he would soon betray him.
Survivors often must look upon their ruined homes, scattered belongings, life thrown into chaos and destruction.
This is often the most challenging stage of recovery because it requires us acknowledging that things will never be the same again. The world as we know it has ceased to exist.
There is new life beyond the upheaval, but first we must sort through the muck.
Today, I want us to picture ourselves as one of the disciples who has just heard Jesus’ admonition that he will be betrayed. How do you feel? What is going through your mind?
If I am honest, I will admit that it’s hard for me to understand a journey that moves forward into darkness, a journey where things get a heck of a lot harder and darker before they ever get better.
But that is the journey of the cross.
We take steps that seem to lead straight into the pit of hell and wonder why Jesus calls this God’s glory. What can God do in this murk and much, this pain and undoing?
One thing is certain: things will never be the same again.
Prayer:
Troubled God,
in every generation
you call your people to contend
against the brutality of sin and betrayal.
Keep us steadfast even in our fear and uncertainty,
that we may follow where Jesus has led the way. Amen.
(From The Revised Common Lectionary)
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