5th Sunday of Lent
Just this past week, one of my students came up to me with a forlorn look on her face.
Though I am not a parent, I have spent enough time around 9 year-olds during my time as a teacher that I candistinguish an authentic look from an attention-seeking one. Without going into the details of her personal situation, I took her outside the classroom and asked her what was going on. She mentioned that she didn’t feel like herself lately. I might describe her as feeling “troubled”.
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” We all have different things that we feel troubled about from time to time. Sometimes about practical everyday things, and sometimes about bigger picture things. It’s usually around this point in Lent that reality seems to set in for me. Every year, without fail, God rings my bell and I’m reminded that I’m not doing as much as I could be, or should be, to prepare myself for Holy Week and Easter. Every year around this this time, I feel…troubled…thinking about how Andrew the sinner isn’t as close to Jesus the Savior as he could be. But that’s good in that I’m motivated to grow closer to him.
Jesus said previously in this Gospel that, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” The day of His death seems to be hitting Jesus incredibly hard in this passage, and since he was fully human this no doubt instilled fear in him. I would venture to say that describing his emotions as “troubled” sounds like an understatement.
If the Gospel ended there, we would be left with a lot of questions. Was Jesus truly conflicted about his death? What about his alignment with his Father? Does Jesus actually trust in his Father’s will? But then we read Jesus’ next line.
“‘But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it and will glorify it again.’” Jesus is dealing with his own mortality, an observation that I find fascinating. He recognizes his beautiful purpose for the lives of all, yet the realization is laced with an undertone of nervousness and fear.
Though it’s impossible to do so, put yourself in His shoes for a second. Considering all that Jesus was carrying, wouldn’t you feel trepidation too? Wouldn’t you feel a little more than just “troubled”? Whatever our own troubles in life, we can be sure of one thing; Jesus knows what it’s like to be troubled too. He walks with us in our own times of trial and suffering, and he can truly empathize because he did put himself in our shoes by becoming one of us.
So whether you’re thinking about the big picture like me right now, you’re troubled like my student has been lately, or you’re just worried about a bit test coming up, know that Jesus is with you and place your trust in him. The peace he can give is greater than all of our troubles.
Image: Flickr User Ashley Webb
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