LONGING FOR GOD’S PROMISE

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Wednesday, April 16th

After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” …“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… Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
~ Excerpts from John 13

And it was night.

These four words at the end of this passage might seem trivial, but we understand their significance; they set the scene for what is to come. These next few days are dark ones. They are the most somber, thought-provoking, and inspiring days of Lent and Holy Week, as Jesus teaches, endures, suffers, and dies. We are relieved to know what happens after this–the tomb is found empty, and Jesus is alive! We know there is “a light at the end of the tunnel.” But getting through the darkness is a journey of heartache, humility, sorrow, guilt, helplessness, and despair.

Lately the tunnel seems awfully long and dark to me. I remain very grateful for the hope we share in Christ, to know there is light ahead, even if it is a glimmer in the distance.

As we walk through this dark tunnel of Holy Week, revisiting the stories of Jesus–washing the feet of his disciples and sharing a meal with them, praying and agonizing in the garden, enduring a mock trial, a terrible flogging, and a crown of thorns pushed onto his head, and finally, suffering his death on a cross–we grieve and question ourselves and our complicity. When we also include our own troubles and sadness, the tunnel can seem endless.

But what does Jesus do? Knowing his earthly end is near, Jesus continues to care for the needs of his disciples…

When (Judas) 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. 
~ John 13:31-21

Jesus is telling his disciples that there will be more to this story. The end will not be the end. Jesus will suffer and die, but he will soon be glorified, too. In later passages (John 14) Jesus goes on to promise that his presence will remain with them, and that they will do greater works than he. He assures them that there will be that light at the end of the tunnel.

This is our light, too. This is the reason we can keep walking, keep watching, keep hoping, keep helping one another through these dark yet holy days–and every dark yet holy day we face in life. The light of resurrection, the light of each new beginning, is always before us, to reveal and guide us on to brighter days.

Bible verses are NRSVUE, found at https://www.biblegateway.com/
(Photo by Karen)