Plot to Kill Jesus
by Betty Ruth Fox
John 11: 48 – 50. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Then one of them Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “you know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man dies for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
I struggled with these scripture readings more than the others during this Lenten season. In fact, I read and reread them at least ten times. Then it hit me. My struggle is that this scripture is completely solemn as it foretells the plot to kill Jesus. It is the meditation that prepares us for Holy Week. I try so hard to see and share light in the darkness of a reading and this one is extremely difficult. As I thought about it more, I remembered the promise of Psalm 23 — that God is with us through the valley of the shadow of death, sickness, tragedy, sadness, loneliness, and fear. God is also with us through the peaks of birth, good health, good fortune, joy, fellowship and comfort. Whatever we are experiencing, we move through it with God at our side. It also reminded me of the poem “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I asked the Lord.
“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
Prayer: Dear God, as we prepare for Holy Week, please help us to be present in spirit each day as we experience again your amazing gift and grace through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Additional Scriptures: Psalm 85:1-7; Ezekiel: 37:21-28.