Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wednesday in Holy Week

On this Wednesday in Holy Week, we continue with Jesus as he walks toward Calvary. In the 12th chapter of the Gospel according to John, we see that 6 days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Martha, Mary and Lazarus (whom Jesus had raised from the dead), lived. Right after that, Jesus goes to Jerusalem where he is greeted with shouts of “hosanna” (Palm Sunday). Then we heard how the Pharisees said to each other, “You see that you can do nothing; look, the whole world has gone after him.” After this, the Gentiles came looking for Jesus, wishing to see him.

Today we pick up where we left off yesterday, and we hear how Jesus’ soul is troubled:

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. (Jn. 12: 27-36).


Even though he is God, Jesus is like us in every way because he is also fully human. Today we see how human Jesus is. He knew what kind of death he was going to die. He was afraid, but in the midst of that fear, Jesus, who is ever faithful to the Father and to us, is able to say, “No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Jesus is all about glorifying God the Father no matter what he does and no matter what it costs.


How ready are we to glorify God in what we do?


Let us pray: 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.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST especially all of those serving in our Armed Forces at home and abroad.

REMEMBER ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY AT ST. AUGUSTINE’S:
Praying for the Individuals on our Prayer List
The Margaret Biehl Community Garden
The Prayer Shawl Ministry
Sunday Fellowship Breakfasts
Art Classes
Feeding the Medical Students at William Temple (next Wednesday)
The Altar Guild

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

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