A Daily Lent

Wednesday of Holy Week Daily Reading : Matthew 26:14 – 25 Focus Passage : When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me." (Matt. 26:20 – 23) The daily readings walking us through Holy Week give us a glimpse of the events which shape these difficult days in Jesus’ life. We cannot dismiss the intensity of their “passion” by simply saying, “Jesus was the Son of God, so none of this trial actually touched him.” Jesus was also the Son of Humanity (Son of Man in most translations), fully alive and a complete human. Yes, Jesus was touched by the defections and betrayals and accusations of the week. The Gospel writers knew what those sitting around the ta...

John 13:21 After he had said this, Jesus' spirit was troubled. Here is the witness he gave. "What I'm about to tell you is true," he said. "One of you is going to hand me over to my enemies." Years ago I listened to a Henri Nouwen cassette tape series in which he noted that during the week of Jesus' Passion, he no longer acted, but rather he was acted upon. He no longer took the initiative; instead, things were done to him. In other words, in this week of "Passion," Jesus was passive, not active. From the time he was "handed over," until he was crucified and buried, he was at the mercy of others. It is really a remarkable insight, that Jesus, who had been so strong and in authority in every encounter of his life, now was at the mercy of others. So many of us have significant issues with control, management, and manipulation. We want to be the actors, not the acted upon. To be "passive" is equated with being lazy. Th...

John 2:17 "Zeal for your house will consume me." Those who observed Jesus' actions in the Temple -- what we call the "cleansing of the Temple" -- used this verse from Psalm 69:9 to describe his motivation for upsetting the Temple (John 2:13 - 25, which is the entire lesson for today). They interpreted his actions as "zeal." "Zeal" and "consume" are the old words, used in the King James Version, and followed by most of the older translations. The more contemporary Bible translations use "love," "strong love," or "passion" instead of zeal, and they use the image of that love burning or being on fire instead of "consume". "My love for your house burns in me like a fire" (CEV). The cultural way to think about zeal and passion is that everyone needs a little bit, that if you're not at least a little passionate about something you're not really living. But we have such a b...