Thursday, April 21, 2011

Into the Woods My Master Went, Clean Forspent

today is thursday of holy week, a day when christians observe the anniversary of Jesus' last meal with the disciples and His betrayal and arrest. as i sit writing this post, a much-needed rain is falling.  my thoughts turn to what Jesus may have felt on this occasion.  He knows that He will soon be betrayed by judas iscariot.  according to john's gospel, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, teaching them the meaning of servanthood and, during the course of the evening, teaches them several other lessons about His nature and what it is to be His follower.  Jesus knows that the religious leaders, who have perverted the jewish religion to collaborate with the romans, will arrest Him, try Him, and condemn Him to a horrible death at the hands of the romans.  Jesus' heart must have ached, knowing that He had so little time remaining to be with His most faithful followers and knowing how terribly He would suffer, first at the hands of the religious authorities and then through His humiliation and crucifixion by the romans.  one can only imagine then emotions that must have been tearing at Jesus.

as i listen to the rain, at times gentle, while at other times a right downpour, i pray that i will come to understand the ministry of Jesus and the true significance of His death and resurrection.  my prayer this day is that each of of us will rejoice in the gift of Jesus' life and will learn the lessons that these last hours leading up to easter have for us.

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