While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me!” – Mark 14:18.
Now, that doesn’t seem like an encouraging verse, you might think. And you right, it doesn’t sound very encouraging. Yet, here Jesus is at the table with the disciples, calling out the impending denial and betrayal of those same twelve disciples. It may not seem encouraging, but it is a part of our story.
Jesus was rejected, denied, and betrayed. All would lead to his eventual death on the cross, but from there we find that it is not only Jesus who dies, but so does our sin, so does our betrayal, our denial, and everything else we have done wrong in life. Through the death on the cross, everything is forgiven. Through the love of Jesus, shown on the cross, we are made new.
I want to confess, when all this mess of coronavirus and quarantine started, I was in denial. I through surly this won’t come here, surly it won’t disrupt life too much, surly we would be back together in church in a week or two. I kept thinking and planning for Holy Week and Easter as if it were going to happen, as if we were going to be worshiping together. Even after the official words of “close until further notice,” I still didn’t believe it would impact Easter celebrations, surely it wouldn’t, surely it couldn’t.
Obviously, I was in denial. We are spending this week, and the coming Easter apart, it will be different, it will feel strange, it does feel strange, but it doesn’t discredit what we celebrate. And even though we won’t be together Easter still happens.
The church still believes in resurrection. On the other side of this pandemic, the church will again experience and celebrate resurrection. We will gather at the table, confess how we have failed, but know that we are forgiven and freed for joyful obedience through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even now, we are experiencing a new kind of freedom, the freedom to really experience the solemnness of this week. I’m embracing this time, getting more work done around the house, learning to be a homeschool teacher, finding new way to share the gospel. By the end of this I might be a professional video editor. However, the most important thing I will know is that life, though disrupted, continues.
God is continuing to create something new in us, even if we are in denial, even while we unaware. God create something new in me. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Sam
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