Faith, Hope, and Resurrection

There is so much to today's scriptures to unpack. For me, I seemed to be pulled to comparing and contrasting how Jesus responded to these events vs how I or any other human might. I seemed to be pulled into Jesus’s plea to not have to go through what was about to happen and the confusion and overconfidence of the disciples' support for Him. It all felt dark, isolating, and confusing. Similar to how I feel in times of desolation where I feel separated from God, but know He is still there, but do not know what is going to happen next. I was also pulled into the way that Jesus led steadfastly once His hour was at hand. He did not lose His mind or react out of anger. There is no description of inner fear or turmoil or a plea for mercy. There seems to be a peace and an indifference to Him during His Passion that I do not expect we would see in many other humans.

I was struck by how logical Jesus’s response is to the crowd that came to arrest Him about how they came to get Him under the veil of night and with swords and clubs, while they always could have approached Him during the day while He was teaching and preaching. Yet, Jesus does not respond with push-back, try to resist, or try to get caught up in the power play. He gives Himself over peacefully. I put myself in that scene and thought of many other moments of my life where I felt like Jesus, not where the stakes where even nearly as high, but where I have felt unjustly treated...and how awful I felt...I can begin to imagine how that might be if my life was also on the line...yet Jesus gives Himself up freely. He knows He is doing God’s will.

And I guess for me, that is what speaks to me most right now, Jesus as a servant who served God and His people despite the situation or the cost. Even as He is unjustly accused, as His friends deny and betray Him, and as he is sentenced and killed, He does not lose his Faith. He serves God and His mission to the end...doing what He knows is right. Jesus provides us the model for how to respond in times of great desolation, suffering, and death; with Faith and Hope in the Resurrection.

Author: Todd Gruninger, Science Department Chair