Today’s lectionary Readings: Psalm 54; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 19:17-30; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; Psalm 22
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in life is how God can be manifest in even the most unlikely of details of our life – regardless of how large or small that detail might seem. The trick then becomes being able to stop and find God’s presence in that most unlikely place. I found this lesson to be true once again in one of the small details contained in today’s difficult passage from the Gospel of John. The detail that caught my eye was contained in John 19:19-22. In that section, we are told that Pilate – a man who had earlier been portrayed as cowardly and insecure – did something completely out of character. He has a bold notice prepared to place above Jesus on the cross that read: “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” When the religious authorities heard this, they tried to do what they had done throughout the story – manipulate events to get their desired outcome. In this case, they try to get the wording of Pilate’s notice changed to “This Man Claimed to be King of the Jews”. For once, however, their request fell on closed ears. At a moment that must have seemed from the outside to be a moment of tremendous vulnerability and crushing defeat for Jesus, there hung these unexpected and bold words that proclaimed the uniqueness of this man. What a shocking turn of events indeed! Perhaps there are areas in your life – Good Friday areas where you too seem tremendously vulnerable or on the verge of a crushing defeat – where you think it impossible to find any expression of God’s presence and grace. If so, spend some time examining the details a bit more closely. If you look closely enough, you might just find an unexpected marker in your own life that makes an unexpected and bold proclamation of God’s presence. Til next time…
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in life is how God can be manifest in even the most unlikely of details of our life – regardless of how large or small that detail might seem. The trick then becomes being able to stop and find God’s presence in that most unlikely place. I found this lesson to be true once again in one of the small details contained in today’s difficult passage from the Gospel of John. The detail that caught my eye was contained in John 19:19-22. In that section, we are told that Pilate – a man who had earlier been portrayed as cowardly and insecure – did something completely out of character. He has a bold notice prepared to place above Jesus on the cross that read: “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” When the religious authorities heard this, they tried to do what they had done throughout the story – manipulate events to get their desired outcome. In this case, they try to get the wording of Pilate’s notice changed to “This Man Claimed to be King of the Jews”. For once, however, their request fell on closed ears. At a moment that must have seemed from the outside to be a moment of tremendous vulnerability and crushing defeat for Jesus, there hung these unexpected and bold words that proclaimed the uniqueness of this man. What a shocking turn of events indeed! Perhaps there are areas in your life – Good Friday areas where you too seem tremendously vulnerable or on the verge of a crushing defeat – where you think it impossible to find any expression of God’s presence and grace. If so, spend some time examining the details a bit more closely. If you look closely enough, you might just find an unexpected marker in your own life that makes an unexpected and bold proclamation of God’s presence. Til next time…
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