Dark Thursday
Invitation into this Space
Before reading this Devotional, take a moment to tune into the Spirit. Get comfortable where you are sitting.
Take a few deep breaths and focus on the movement of the air gently expanding and contracting your lungs.
Be still and know that this is the Spirit rushing through you.
Meditate on these Words from Scripture
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly,
and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples,
he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them.
“Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke 22:44-46 (NIV)
Reflection
Why did Jesus become angry with his disciples for sleeping on the night before he would die?
This is a surprisingly current question for our times. Our culture has an interesting relationship with faith. A lot of faith is tied to aspects of our personal identity, such as politics, gender, and race. How you label your faith these days almost has an immediate assumption associated with it.
Let’s look at the question again: Why did Jesus become angry with his disciples the night before he knew he would die? He is the only one who truly understands the weight of what he is about to endure. Luke 22:44 describes his emotional state as he prays in the garden as “anguish”. All gospel accounts tell us that Jesus asks his disciples to pray with him because of how tense the situation is. A mob of bigoted religious leaders, soldiers, and a governing empire were encroaching on the garden where Jesus prayed. So, why did he get upset at those he loved falling asleep while keeping watch with him?
I think Jesus was angry because, at a crucial moment, his Disciples were dreaming of a reality that didn’t exist. Luke 22:45 says, “…he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.” That paints a picture of escapism; that the truth of the situation burdened them so much they could barely stand to be present in it. There was a miracle unfolding in their midst, but they were too tired to engage with it at the point that required their presence the most. What happens when we are too tired to engage with truth? We slip into a world constructed by our fears. We miss the opportunity for growth that difficulty offers us. We shrink God to the level of our experience and dress him in what we find familiar– our country, agendas, and expectations.
Take with You
“And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:50-53)
In Luke 22:49, a follower of Jesus (Peter) strikes one of the arresting soldier’s ears with his sword. Notice how when we function off of fear narratives, we act impulsively. Jesus had prepared his disciples for this very moment. Three times in Luke’s gospel, he tells them exactly what was coming: he would be taken and killed, but he would rise again. He was in control the whole time!
Then, after healing the injured soldier who came to arrest him, Jesus says one of the most badass things recorded in Scripture. He turns to the swat team with all their gear and the scared Religious Leaders and says, “Was all this really necessary? I was inches away from you every day and you didn’t arrest me then.”
Mind you, the news of Jesus’s words and works had spread throughout the land. Days before this the countryside was in an uproar over the report that he rose Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was paraded into the city like a King by the crowds. So, I almost don’t blame the mob for coming prepared with gear. But I think that is similar to how a lot of us approach Christ.
I think often we assume we need to approach Jesus with a good mindset, the ideal conditions, the right music, and a clear conscience. But Jesus wants us to just come to him. Jesus just wants us as we are, not armed with the “spiritual stuff” we think we need. Jesus calls out the mob for arresting him in the dark because they know what they are doing is wrong. This is also a call for us to step into his light; to be honest and embrace hard truths with his help.