Holy Week: Wednesday
There is no Bible reading today. There is no mention of this day in the Gospels. Apparently Jesus did not enter the city today. He remained at the home of Lazarus and Mary and Martha in Bethany.
On Sunday Jesus entered the city to great tumult and rejoicing. Monday was a day of physical confrontation as Jesus cleansed the temple. Tuesday was a long day of teaching, facing his enemies and accusing them of their falsehood. Now Wednesday is a day in which nothing happens.
What would such a day be like, after the confrontations of the 3 days before – and knowing what the next days would bring? How do you feel on the day before a big surgery – or the day before a major change in your life? How do you think Jesus spent his day?
If he sat and talked with his disciples and his friends, he was always aware that plans were being laid to kill him.
If he spent the day in prayer, his prayers must have focused on the days to come. He must have known what he would suffer.
Perhaps this Wednesday is like the time we spend in hospital waiting rooms, anxiously praying and thinking about all the possible paths the future might take. But Jesus’ future is already planned.
Thursday will begin with the familiar preparations for the Passover, but it will end with Jesus’ arrest and trial. It will seem to them as if all is lost, but God will still be unveiling his plans.
When nothing is happening in your life, something is happening. When you are bored and cannot think what to do, there is one who is already doing – already working out his plan, even on the quiet days.
Today Jesus and his disciples take a deep breath before the plunge. Perhaps you can take some time today to do the same. Pray. Watch. Think. Wait. Trust.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have times in which it seems as if my life is on hold and nothing is happening. Help me to wait and trust that you are using even those times to my blessing. Let me fill those times with prayer, and wait for you to bless me, even if it be through a season of sorrow. I trust in you. Amen.