Spy Wednesday

Mark 14: 1-11

Some people call this day Spy Wednesday because it is the day that Judas sneaks away to tell the authorities where to find Jesus.  This is the day the thought becomes a plan of action.  The plot of Jesus' week thickens and we find ourselves in the middle of a scenario we know all too well but don't want to be in.  

This is the day Jesus' friend disappoints him.  Betrays him. Turns in him.  

This life is full of disappointments.  There are some things that just don't turn out the way you hoped they would.  The way you thought they would.  People let you down.  That's life, isn't it? 

Jesus was let down by someone he thought was a friend. Someone he trusted.  Let that sink in.  Even Jesus himself put trust in people who couldn't be trusted.

So in the middle of a hard week, remember.  Remember that Jesus has been where you are.  Remember that Jesus, too, was disappointed.  Was hurt.  Was betrayed.  None of this is okay.  But - that's life, isn't it? It's not always going to be okay.  But there will be another sunrise.  And there will be the triumph of goodness and love.  And that, my friends, that is what I hold onto on this Spy Wednesday.  On this day of betrayal and disappointment....when we find ourselves in the middle of a scenario we know all too well but don't want to be in....remember that Jesus is right there in the midst of it too.

Holy Monday

 I used to do this thing where I would write a reflection and prayer for each day of Holy Week.  I didn't do it last year.  I guess I worry that I have run out of things to say.  But that's silly.  There is so much depth in the story of our faith, especially on this sacred, heavy week.  

After reading Mark 11:12-19, where Jesus curses the fig tree and makes a scene in the Temple, the first thought that came to my mind is a typical one.  Jesus got mad.  He got real mad.  Jesus got mad not at the Temple practices or the rituals.  Rather, he got mad at the fruitlessness he was witnessing from the people of God. His own people.  People who should have been walking the walk, not just talking the talk.  Jesus calls us all out.  Angry Jesus challenges us all to reflect deeply over the way we live our lives.  Do we live for God - loving and forgiving and caring for others - or do we live for ourselves and our own reputation?  Are we the same person on Monday-Saturday as we are on Sunday?

It's a difficult task Jesus calls us to. And to imagine our Good Shepherd turning over tables and fussing at us is not my favorite depiction by any means. But nobody said that Lent was easy.  And certainly nobody ever said the path to the cross was a walk in the park.

So today, on this Holy Monday, perhaps it would be wise to listen to Angry Jesus.  To wonder about the fruits I am or am not freely producing to a hurting world.  Today is a good day, before it gets too late, to ask Jesus for a little bit of help, a little dose of humility, and an opening of my heart to receive the goodness he came to give us.  And then to freely give it away.

Dear God,  Angry Jesus is hard. But he is angry because he loves. He loves us so much and he wants us to love each other.  He wants us to treat each other in the way he has shown us. He wants our places of worship to reflect humble people who are practicing discipleship in our every day lives, not just on the high holy days. Can you help me, God? Help me to listen to Jesus.  Amen.