It's Bound to Take Your Life

Maundy Thursday


Mark 14:32-35

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

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Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Maybe we should all recognize by this scripture from Mark that Jesus, the fully human and fully divine Son of God and Son of Man did not have a death wish. Jesus did not tell neither his Father nor the world, "Bring it on! You got something for me, I got something for you!" No, Jesus was grieved knowing what was coming. Jesus knew the pain, suffering, and shame the world would inflict upon him all too soon. He is Messiah, not masochist. Only a fool would say "Bring it on!" Jesus was grieved.

Jesus was grieved knowing that the heavenly Father, for whom nothing was impossible, would not take the cup of death from his lips.

Jesus prayed that this time, this hour, this trial, this disgrace, this indignity, this death, would pass him like the cloud of death on Passover. He prayed his friends would be strong enough to stay awake and pray, he even brought his three closest friends to be closer and do just two things: stay put and stay awake. They got it half right but if you fall asleep gravity does the rest.

Let this show us two things. The first is that we all fail Jesus. Let those who say they are without sin know that they fool themselves more than they fool anybody else. The apostles, the twelve, those closest to the Messiah fall short. If they fall short in the physical presence of the Messiah what does that hold for us.

The second thing is that Jesus perseveres. He is human enough to treasure life, a life so full of love and hope that only the most human person, the only fully human person can live it. But because Jesus treasured all life and worked for its redemption, because Jesus lived fully even in the hour of his arrest, only because he knew the bad moon was rising and it was bound to take his life; because of Jesus we live.

Who Does Stop the Rain

Genesis 8:1-3

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters gradually receded from the earth.

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Long as I remember the rain been coming down,

Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground,

Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun,

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain.

"Who'll Stop the Rain" written by John Fogerty, originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

It's easy, way to easy to find someone who is in desperate straights and say that God provides. First of all, it's true. God does provide. God remembers. In this reading from Genesis, God remembered Noah and every living creature in the Ark. And when it was time for the trial to subside, God made a wind blow over the earth, the heavens closed, and the water receded over the face of the earth.

It's like that 60's hippie poem "Footsteps." It's true, when there is only one set of prints in the sand it's not because we're alone it's because the Lord is carrying us across the desert.

Still, it's lousy care. When someone walks up to you and asks "Who'll stop the rain?" we are not supposed to just say "Jesus" and get on with our lives.

Something that gets lost in our translations is that the Hebrew word of wind is the same as the word Spirit. This word is often used in the Old Testament to point to the Spirit of God. God sends the Spirit to do the holiest of work, even if it is just drying the waters from what will again be dry land.

The same Spirit blows on us. We are sent, we are called, we are ordained to do God's work. Sometimes we are called to build the ark, sometimes we are called to dry the tears. Sometimes we are called to try to find the sun, we are also called to try to find the Son.

We can't do God's work ourselves, that is up to God. Still, we have to be attuned to the work God sends us to do. We can't stop the rain, but we can help clean up after the flood.

The Midnight Special

Acts 16:25-34

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

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Well, you wake up in the mornin, you hear the work bell ring,
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.
Aint no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan.
But you better not complain, boy, you get in trouble with the man.

Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me,
Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me,
Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me,
Let the Midnight Special shine a everlovin' light on me.

"The Midnight Special" performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival

There are two ways to consider the experience of the prisoner seeing the light of the special. The first is that it is quite possible that that sight could drive a man mad. Every night, after lights out, just when the noises of the night might settle a bit, in comes the light of freedom, shining on your wall, shining in your eyes, and there is nothing a man can do but watch it go by, knowing that it's going to happen again and again and again. Doing time can't be easy, but this reminder freedom may be too much to bear.

But then again, there is always the light of hope. This seems to be the way of the man in the song, waiting for "the Midnight Special shine a everlovin' light on me."

Paul was in this situation. He and Silas were in prison, it was about midnight, and they were singing Psalms. With all of the noises I can imagine around a prison, I can't imagine singing the Psalms at Midnight, but there it is.

Suddenly, an earthquake causes the doors to fly open and the chains to be loosed on all of the prisoners. The jailer, the man trusted with the care of the prisoners knew that if everyone escaped, his life was forfeit. He even drew his sword before even looking because who expects loosed prisoners to stay in their cells? Not that guy for sure.

This is where the witness of verse twenty-eight cries out in the night, "But Paul shouted in a loud voice, 'Do not harm yourself, for weare all here.'"

Paul stayed and Silas stayed because the witness they had to share with the world was more important than running out. Paul and Silas stayed because what they needed to do they could not do as fugitives. They had more important work to do and trusted God that it would not mean leaving them in this jail.

By this witness, the kingdom of heaven became richer. Because these men did not lose hope, the kingdom of heaven became richer. Don't lose hope. The kingdom of heaven is here.