Praying with Jesus this Wednesday Before Easter

March 31, 2021

The song is entitled “We Fall back Amazed” and the line that has stayed with me is “Be lifted up”. In the near future we’ll be releasing my Zoom conversations with Mike Janzen about his two album “Psalms Project” from which this song comes. Yesterday I listened to this song before listening to Mark’s account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial.

It was appropriate to “fall back amazed” at the path that God took to be “lifted up” and demonstrate that ultimately light defeats darkness. We may sing that we want to “lift up” God’s name or reputation but when Jesus said he must be lifted up to draw all peoples to himself it was a costly path.

What caused me to fall back in amazement was the story – praying with sleepy friends in the garden, betrayed by a friend, seized and cuffed by soldiers, kangaroo court hearing with religious leaders, denied by friends, beatings, hearing before the foreign occupier’s man, frenzied crowds deny clemency, alone in the barracks of the occupier’s soldiers – mocked, beaten, forced walk with the tools of execution on his shoulders, nailed to a cross, mocked by passersby, religious leaders and even those executed with him, buried by one of those religious leaders.

In addition to Jesus the one figure who stood out for me on this reading was the Roman centurion who watched Jesus die. Mark writes: “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last…. When the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:37,39 NIVUK) He fell back amazed at Jesus’ character in his dying.

I fall back amazed as I think about Jesus teaching us that if we humble ourselves that in good time we will be lifted up by the Father. But his demonstration of powerful, courageous humility puts an amazing spotlight on this process. In a world where if I could only get a few more likes or comments on social media posts my profile would be “lifted up”, my shallowness is easily revealed.

I like the attention but on the same morning I was “falling back amazed” I was resentful of the attention others may have received and wasn’t compelled by the needs of the world or the mission of Jesus even in this season. It takes courage empowered by intimate love with the Father for Jesus to walk purposefully and intentionally to sacrificial death – for the life of the world.

In these last few days towards Easter Sunday can we give an hour to reflection on this amazing story? Jesus asked his friends to watch with him while he prayed. We know He prays for us, for the world even as we sit here this moment. Might we also watch him in action through these dark days of sorrow and suffering? It will move us from the shallow into deeper light.

Our joy as we celebrate the triumph of the power of His light over the worst the powers of darkness could throw at him will be enriched if we watch even for an hour these last couple of days of Holy Week. May you fall back amazed at the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Goodness of friendship grow among us,

Norm 

p.s. Links to Mike Janzen’s “The Psalms Project” www.mikejanzen.ca  or  https://music.apple.com/ca/album/the-psalms-project-vol-1-the-carried-words/1548059471