The Hidden God

Scripture 

May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always!
(Hebrews 13:20-21 MSG) 

The Hidden God 

Just the weather gave me highs and lows last week. Spring was hiding but the occasional warmth of the sun lifted my spirits. Our federal budget, depending on your perspective, was a high, a low, a worry, or completely frustrating. People are hurting with financial uncertainty and some banks are rattling the economic weather. Meanwhile the 1% are making money hand over fist.  

And yet as a new month dawns, I am more grateful than grumpy, and this week is part of the antidote. We move with Jesus from the pageantry of Palm Sunday, in his final public appearances in the face of death threats and in his long conversations with his closest companions on Thursday evening. From there we move to his lonely, passionate prayers in the garden and his arrest, beatings, kangaroo courts and execution and burial.  

The Good God reveals love and power in both the visible and hidden places of this week. Compassion for his executioners, his fellow prisoners is easily seen but the wrestling with abandonment and suffering and his battles with the power of evil are hidden and yet also real.  

It’s in in suffering and humiliation Jesus embraces the hidden and dark places of all of life and those of our own lives. Often in our darkest places we feel that God is silent and absent. We can find comfort in the hidden passion of our Lord who is with us in it all. His light shines brightest in our darkest places. The Hidden God is present.  

A Prayer for Today

Merciful God we long for you in our highs and lows. Grant us courage and faith to move through darkness to light, even when it takes longer than we wish. Thank you for your promise that you will never leave us as orphans, but we can trust we are your beloved children …. For Jesus’ sake