Over Water and Before the Plunge

John 13:21-32

At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples– the one whom Jesus loved– was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.”

Summers growing up in Oklahoma were spent riding bikes with friends, spending long weekends with grandparents, and going to the lake. On the east coast, people talk about going to the beach; growing up we looked forward to going to the lake. With over 200 lakes in the state, all but two created by dams, there was always somewhere close where we could escape to swim in the summer heat.

The lakes are beautiful! With varying water clarity, shoreline safety, and watercraft zooming around, spending the day on the water can be quite an adventure. It was terrifying to swim in the murky water, never knowing what lurked beneath. Even in the summer the water was cold, providing a needed respite from the oppressive heat and humidity. Amid all the adventures that likely caused the hearts of adults to skip a beat, the greatest adventure and favorite pastime was the rope swing.

The rope swings were these precariously tied strands of what was, at one time, a cohesive rope dangling on the outstretched branch of a tree over the edge of a cliff. We would run as fast as we could, grab the rope, swing out over the water, and let go. Even if the water was only a few feet below us, it seemed as though time stood still until we plunged under the cold surface.

As we release the rope, we are excited to see what happens even though we know where we’re going. Jesus knows where he is going, too. He knows that he has been glorified in obedience to God. He willingly goes to be humiliated, tortured, and die on a cross for the sake of all creation. Yet he still did his best to prepare those around him for this new reality.

As we approach the holiest days of the year, preparing for the resurrection to come at Easter, we take a breath. Just as we inhale a deep breath and let go of the rope over the water and time seems to slow down as we fall towards the water, we know that we are held in God’s hands. We know that we are safe in the abiding care of almighty God, even as we fall to the relief of resurrection. We risk very little in letting go of the rope, just as we risk very little to relive the story of Holy Week, of humiliation, torture, death, and resurrection.

It’s in the time we have falling toward resurrection that we tell the story to be transformed, to live the story, and to tell the story to the world. This story of a love so great, that Christ was willing to sacrifice himself for the whole world simply because all creation is worthy of this love. Thanks be to God we live this story, and thanks be to God we know the way to new life and new love for ourselves and the world.

prayer

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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