No More of This!
A meditation for Holy Week, 2006,
by Dr. Will Willimon
Luke 22: 35-38, 47-51
The story of Jesus' Passion ends in
high drama, and not just in the movies. At last the moment comes for the
soldiers to arrest Jesus.And at that
moment the disciples ask Jesus a curious question: Lord, shall we strike with
the sword? (Luke 22:49). It is curious, because well, these are the disciples,
the ones closest to Jesus. What of that, which Jesus taught or did up to this
point, would lead the disciples to think that now they should strike with the
sword?There is a somber irony here. When
Jesus is arrested the soldiers have swords, (no irony in that, all soldiers have
swords. This is the way governments work, with swords. This is the way we attain
national security, with swords. As you pay taxes this year, for the largest
military budget in the world, you know all that In God we trust, is a not
exactly true: in a pinch, give us a good
sword.)The irony is that Jesus' own disciples
have swords. Matthew, Mark, and Luke don't name the disciple with the sword.
John's says that the sword-swinging disciple was none other than Peter, the
rock, the church, us.click here to read the entire
meditation
Filed Mon - April 10, 2006, 01:18 PM in
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