They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’ Mark 10:32-34
This is now the third, and the last, time that Jesus will tell his twelve closest friends about his impending death. Evidently Peter has learned his lesson. He keeps his mouth shut.
We know this story pretty well. Perhaps too well.
Thousands of people have been killed over the past couple of weeks inSyria. Is it an uprising, a civil war, or chaos? None of that matters much to the people left behind, caught between their grief at losing a loved one and their terror at the thought of being next in line.
Seldom does a week go by inHoustonwithout hearing yet another gruesome story about Mexican drug lords (a fascinating choice of words) fighting (another interesting word) their battles over turf and power. The use of “lord” should be utterly banned in the media style sheets for such bloodthirsty criminals and you can hardly call it “fighting” when an SUV rolls up to a little village and rounds up defenseless men and women soon to be treated with less humanity than a rooster at a cockfight.
Yes we know the story of innocent people suffering at the hands of powerful people who care for nothing but more of what they already have.
We know the stories of good men shot down in their prime.
We know the story of crowds suddenly turning, manipulated by the voices in the front of the room.
We know that someone provides bullets, sells guns, buys drugs, elects leaders…and maybe it occurs to us that no one is really on the sidelines of such atrocities. There is a little bit of every one of us involved. We’ve heard the words “you are your brother’s keeper” and “when one suffers, we all suffer; when one rejoices, we all rejoice.” We can’t close our eyes tight enough or cover our ears completely. We’re surrounded.
Perhaps we know the story too well. It doesn’t shock us anymore. This story of the famed and fabled “Son of Man”, this long expected Messiah, who comes not with armies to right the wrongs of a broken world but only to be himself broken as he is hung by his arms to a suffocating death.
Jesus will soon enterJerusalemas he has entered into life itself. He will enter the temple, enter the courtyard, enter the suffering of a broken world. Now we’ve heard the story again. Will Jesus enter us as well?
Let us pray: Lord, we are with your disciples. We too feel both fear and amazement at hearing again the words of your suffering and death from your own lips. We don’t want to look but we can’t look away. May we continue to see you in those who suffer and those who seek to help. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Daily Devotions 
June 8, 2012 at 9:42 pm |
Our country has an appetite for drugs. There is a price. Humanity has an appetite for worldly pleasures. The price has been paid by our Lord.