Holy Wednesday

What follows is a devotion that I led for a Community Lenten Breakfast at our congregation on Holy Wednesday, 2018.

Lent

Lent is 40 days in the life of the church, it starts on Ash Wednesday and goes all the way up until what we call Holy Saturday or the Great Vigil of Easter.  It doesn’t include Sundays.

Some of you may have been coming to these breakfasts for a long time and some of you might be here for the first time, and I’m glad that your journey has brought you here today.

The ancient church usually talks about Lent in the form of a journey.  Sometimes, it tends to be a personal one- me and Jesus kind of thing.  But sometimes, if you immerse yourself in community, it becomes a communal journey where I share the road with you, and you with someone else, and them with others.

We journey to this week- to The great Three Days in the life of the Church- Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil.  We retell again the story of Jesus’ life and ministry but also his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  No, we don’t like to talk about bad things, or especially death; but I don’t think you can avoid it- death is as much a part of life as breathing is and life really wouldn’t mean anything without death.

This week, our journey takes us to be with Jesus before his death.  Tomorrow, our journey takes us to a room with the disciples where Jesus will humble himself in the most intimate way- this act of love and service by washing his disciples feet.

Friday, our journey takes us to Golgotha, or the place of the Skull, where the cross is.  You know what happens there, and if you don’t, I’ll invite you to join one of our local churches for worship on Good Friday or join with the South Haven Ministerial Alliance at noon at Hope Reformed for a community worship service reflecting on the 7 last words of Jesus from the cross.

Today

But today, let’s stay with Holy Wednesday.  If you come from a tradition that uses the Revised Common Lectionary, which is a cycle of readings for worship over a 3 year period, then we get a reading from the Gospel of John the 13^th Chapter verses 21-32.

²¹Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” ²²The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. ²³One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; ²⁴Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. ²⁵So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶Jesus 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. ²⁷After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” ²⁸Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. ²⁹Some 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. ³⁰So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
  ³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.”

What do you notice?

Some circles of the Christian Church have named this day, Spy Wednesday.  Weird sort of name, but it relates to the primary character of the gospel reading for today – Judas.  Judas is sneaky and is the one who betrays Jesus into the hands of the Sanhedrin. 

Whether sneaky or not, we know that Judas had a part to play in this week.  You can argue over whether it was God’s plan all along or not, but Judas does betray Jesus. 

They are eating a meal together, reclining as one would in the ancient world.  The Beloved disciple is sitting by Jesus, a place of honor.  Peter can’t even ask Jesus who it is because he’s not near him like the Beloved Disciple is in John.  But Jesus identifies Judas and Judas goes out to do what he is going to do… but the part that John records next is significant- he says again, “so after receiving the piece of bread, he [Judas] immediately went out.  And it was night.”

Night is so important in John.  It is a metaphor for those who do not get Jesus or who, like Judas, move away from him.  In the beginning of the gospel, John tells us that Jesus is the true light that was coming into the world.  Those who move toward and are with Jesus are in the light, but those who move away from move into darkness.

That seems to fit from my experience.

And I think Lent is all about moving toward Jesus- especially over these next couple of days.  Jesus will reveal to his disciples who he really is, and (spoiler alert- it isn’t who people want him to be).

How is it that we can move toward Jesus, toward the light, toward the future that God has in store for us?

Welcome to Holy Week.