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| Image by Ian Dick |
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A GREETING
Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
(Psalm 54:2)
A READING
‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
(John 17:6-13)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
(Psalm 6:9)
A PRAYER
In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
God has no body.
God is the word which comes out of your mouth.
That word! It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.
- prayer of the Twa people, found in An African Prayer Book
by Desmond Tutu
VERSE OF THE DAY
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
(Psalm 122:8)
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| Image by Gill Poole |
The “farewell discourses” in the Gospel of John are three chapters (13-16) in which Jesus instructs the disciples on living without him and first introduces the idea of the “Paraclete,” the Holy Spirit who will be the next iteration of the Trinity who will make its presence felt among them. (We know that event to be Pentecost.) These chapters are followed by John 17, in which Jesus talks at length and privately to God about what is coming. In this gospel, we go from these chapters immediately to the arrest, with no time in Gethsemane. In this way, the Gospel of John invites a much more introspective reflection on the events than a plot-driven narrative, and one that relies very much on the relationships Jesus has formed.
In the days running up to this moment, there is a sense that Jesus knows what will unfold and therefore makes decisions that impact and implicitly involve others. He delays raising Lazarus by days. In the John version of the last supper, he clearly directs Judas to do what he was already planning. He encourages them to wash each other’s feet as a sign of servanthood, to be prepared to suffer for faith, to think of themselves as belonging to the long history of the people, but as a new vine or branch. He encourages them to think about the eternal life that exists through dwelling with God and with himself both now and in the world not just after their own deaths, but in the future manifestation of a restored world.
Jesus is more interested in what is happening around him among the disciples, than in the larger theatre of what is going on with the authorities. Alone with God, he does not say, “please change the minds of the Romans.” Instead, his primary concern is that his friends continue to be cared for by God and that they know how much they are loved, and have already been gifted with the leadership they are going to fulfill. It is a part of the solitary prayer that he has made space for throughout his ministry, on the eve of his own earthly end.
In today's music we hear Elgar's Enigma Variations. They were composed as a tribute to his loved ones. After a main theme, each of fourteen variations reflects that individual, perhaps through the sound of their laugh, their voice, their personality or even a particular conversation. "Nimrod," performed here, is based on a close friend of Elgar's who was a music editor, a person who offered Elgar tremendous encouragement and also acute criticism when he needed it; someone he relied on utterly for the most important work of his life's calling.
Jesus needs his friends. But Jesus is also fully awake on his own. He is conscious, and fully present to everything. Even so his heart, in this moment, is focused on his friends rather than his death. It is a profoundly quiet almost anti-narrative moment in the unfolding events, a carving out of stillness within a chaotic period of time.
Carving silence out of intense chaos and fast flowing events can be hugely challenging. How are you making space for stillness with God amid the activity and liturgy of Holy Week? How can even a few moments help you find the same comfort that Jesus found?
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| Image by Sundaram Ramaswamy |
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LC† Awakened by the Spirit is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!