Humility – Page 8 – words from wick

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Wick

The bitterness of knowing
His time had come to pass
Sharing a final Passover
He stepped up to the task

By kneeling before each of them
Even his betrayer
To wash their feet as servants do
Even though this seemed unfair

“Not my feet” Peter declared
“But all of me instead.”
Jesus looked at Him with Love
(Though perhaps shook His head.)

As mortar to the bricks of slaves
So my Love fills the gaps
And you will build a Kingdom, freed
To love beyond all maps

The meal started with thankfulness
But turned bitter again
When Jesus said where He was going
They could not come with Him

He would become the spotless lamb
Redeeming every story
And very soon, the Father would
Receive redemptive Glory

Not only new beginnings
But a promised New Creation
As God transformed & flourished in Love
A New and Global Nation

The Greeks who came to worship
Wanted to see Jesus while in town
This confirmed his suspicion
That word had gotten around

The healings that He had performed
The authority when He spoke
The way He invited everyone
Even the unclean folk

He was subversively announcing
Revealing earthly power as undone
Telling everyone, “Repent, and hear
God’s Kingdom has come!”

A seed of New Creation
Which means He has to die
In order to be raised again
His followers wondered why

Which stirred His soul to trouble
He didn’t want to make
Them worry everything would end
Then the Father spoke, for their sake

“I will glorify my name.”
Something big was happening here
Whatever was going to happen next
They didn’t need to fear

It was all part of Gods larger plan
To bring about His Will
That everyone would know His Love
And with it, He would fill

The earth like oceans overflowed
So all would know His glory
It’s more than “Jesus in my heart”
It’s being swallowed by His story.

We don’t just follow His example
And try to live as He
We are born again, children of light
A New Identity.

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Wick

This final cast of characters
From years of Jesus’ service
Would be enough to make any good Jew
More than a little nervous

Gathered in the home of Lazarus
(Who was raised from unclean dead.)
And in comes an emotional woman
Washing his feet with the hair of her head

Her hair was filled with fragrance
That filled the home with scent
Making Judas seem indignant
At what such a gesture meant

Surely the value of such things
Could be used in better ways
(“Trust me”, he may have thought to himself
“I know someone who pays.”)

An awkward meal, it may have been
The dead serving the dying
And more than one among them
Who would end the week by lying

What dinner conversations
Do such moments offer friends?
When you know the lives you share
Are coming to an end?

Still Jesus welcomed all who came
From curiosity or Love
No matter our motivation
A desire to know more is enough

Enough to join a moment
Where He offers to break bread
There’s no better time, or week than now
To read through all He said

His words were not spoke hastily
For God knew they’d be received
Every word was spoken that we
His Love would come to believe.