Daily Worship

Tainted Love

Fiona Campbell March 26, 2013 0 0

Mark 14:10

John 3 :16 

Darkness had fallen, and with it a silence over the city broken only by the barking of dogs and the occasional scuff of hurrying sandals.   In the house the children went reluctantly to bed - it was time for adult conversation – but as Mary moved between the men to clear the plates, someone knocked at the door.  A cautious knock, she thought.     Low voices in the outer room made them all uneasy, and they exchanged glances till Peter emerged followed by, of all people, the Pharisee Nicodemus.

He had come to speak with the Master of course, but from their conversation, Mary had no idea why, or whether he found what he was looking for.   He posed questions, and Jesus answered, but it was as though the Master was pre-occupied with particular ideas; thinking aloud rather than debating with his visitor.   She saw the room fall quiet, other conversations stall, each head turn gradually to Jesus.   

He paused, and looked round the room, studying the faces, “For God so loved the world,” he said, “that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.   God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”   

As he spoke, Mary’s heartbeat throbbed in her ears; she caught her breath.  ‘What does he mean ?’ she thought, ‘Is he ready to tell all Jerusalem who he is ?   Shall I  see the Messiah crowned king ?’  

Her mind spun on as she poured the wine for them, catching his words in snatches.  She felt elated, excited, at the centre of things.   What had he said  . . . everyone who believes in him will not perish . . . not condemn the world but save it  ?

‘At last,’ she thought, ‘This amazing man who has changed my life, will change everyone’s lives.    What will he do next ?’​

 

Mark 14:10

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.   The leading priests were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised him a reward.

​We all think we know best, Lord,

we make our own decisions and hand out advice to others.

It’s hard to admit I don’t know best, Lord,

harder still to ask for help, or accept a kind of life I didn’t choose.

The accounts of your last week on earth, Lord,

it looks a lot like chaos, and I’m afraid of chaos.

Yet, you knew what you were doing – consenting to the betrayal

and humiliation, embracing the painful destiny of a Saviour.

You told us that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his son’

to show us a Love more powerful than love tainted by self-interest 

and betrayal.

I know I don’t always get things right, Lord, but I still want to make my life count,

so can we do it together, Lord ?    I’m willing to listen

knowing how much you love me, knowing you have the big picture

for my small life. 

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written by Fiona Campbell