Holy Wednesday Meditation John 13.21-32

There it sits on the table, the meal is ready for us to eat. All twelve of us have been working hard to prepare this meal and now there he comes, the Messiah himself. Smells good in here, doesn’t it?

Yet as we sit here with each other, we sense a bit of tension in the air, especially since Jesus is talking about how he will die and how he will soon enter into his glory. He has been acting strange lately and I must admit that I was a little uncomfortable at first with Jesus washing my feet. I had not a clue what was going on and did not expect that. He really wants us to understand that there is a cost to the last three years of following him. However, the most bizarre thing he has said is that one of us is not clean? Who can this be? I wonder if it is Peter. I mean, he is always jumping to conclusions trying to outdo us it may seem and he would be the least likely. Surely it isn’t John is it? Either way, Jesus has taught us to love one another and to wash one another’s feet regardless, so this I must do.

Oh He is speaking again, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” What! Again with this betrayal deal, none of us will do this to him. We respect and love him too much. Who can it be? Surely it isn’t I, no way. I will not believe it. Everybody is bewildered and confused. Someone needs to ask him who it is. Ah, I knew the one who Jesus loved would. Yet he did not say it loud enough for it to be heard, “It is the one whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl. Now hurry and do what you’re going to do.” Why would he tell Judas to go and pay for the food now, right in the middle of his teaching? This all just does not make any sense!

I wonder what else he will say now that Judas is gone. “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son.” May I one day glorify the Father like Jesus is explaining.

The mood around the table begins to grow even gloomier as Jesus tells his disciples that his time is coming. But this time we see that the one who will betray Jesus is revealed, yet the other eleven did not understand, but Judas did. Imagine the troubled heart of Judas as he comes face to face with the very one who chose him to be his friend says, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” Fear and probably much trembling overcame his body we can imagine as he ran to turn Jesus over for few silver coins. Yet greed and jealousy is still much apart of our lives and culture today. How often do you feel this tension pulling at your heart, the greed or the desire to want more, to push yourself to the point where you question your morals and end up crossing the line?

May today we find ourselves approaching the cross, asking God to relieve our heavy hearts and the burdens on our backs that are weighing us down. May we come to realize that living a life of Christ does indeed require a cost but the result is something more beautiful than we can imagine. May we cast our care and our feelings onto the Lord and share our deepest feelings to Christ. We have one to turn to, even when we miss the mark greatly!

Peace to you on this Holy Wednesday!