I will go ahead of you into Galilee
I (Joyce) have been in guided prayer over the last 5 or so months. Part of the discipline of this prayer is to try to enter into the humanity of Jesus as fully as we can. Don’t read scripture to immediately mine the lesson! Don’t jump to application too quickly! Don’t infuse the divinity of Jesus in a way that overrides his humanity. Get to know Jesus--fully human. Fall in love with the Jesus who walked among us!
I used the word “discipline." It takes effort not to default to the end of the story. But different details surface. During Lent, I’ve noticed details of the passion narrative that, in these familiar stories, I hadn’t paid much attention to before.
I see how the last supper must have been for Jesus. He's at the table with those who had become dear to him. This would be the last meal together. He would have to let go of them, in the way he had been with them. Jesus says to them that he “eagerly desired” to share the meal before he suffered. It was a celebration, a connection to their shared history, but for him, it was also tinged with grief. Jesus was holding that bigger story that the Passover pointed to, but it was laced through with loss, letting go of what was in the faith of what would be.
Jesus, himself, seems to have set up the foot-washing as a lesson for his disciples—“you should do as I have done for you.” I see a different detail: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” Jesus was going to the cross as a servant. He was the Lord, but he wanted we disciples to know that the cross was not an interruption or disruption to who he was. Rather it was a continuation. What was coming would be the working out of the full extent of his love. The cross reveals God as Servant.
In our prayers this week, we have been instructed to sit in the pause, the darkness--the silence--of Holy Saturday, for the entire week. Don’t try to fill in the emptiness, sort out the confusion and bewilderment, or fix the loss! Be bereft! If something comes to us, like a memory at a wake, we receive it lightly. This morning, I received this memory from earlier in my prayers: Jesus saying to his followers, “I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” For his disciples who would fall away, and fail, and grieve, and fear, Jesus was signaling and promising that there would be something on the other side of it all. He would be there to receive and embrace, forgive and love.
If Covid-19 is a silent Saturday experience, I am holding on to this Jesus, the One revealed to us as acquainted with grief, who is most fully known as a Suffering Servant. I am choosing to trust the promise that he’s going ahead to show us how to live on the other side.
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Finding new ways to minister
The international side of Resonate ministry, including our own, has not stopped during the Covid-19 epidemic. We find ourselves reaching out in ways we might not have with deep connections made possible, perhaps, by our shared vulnerability. We recently met with a core group of ministry partners in SSE Asia for a time of sharing and prayer (virtually via Zoom). It was good to be with our friends and colleagues and share how we are learning in and through the situation. It was heavy too because for many of them, the greatest issue in their context is immediate and pressing hunger. Although Resonate is wrestling with the implications of the Covid 19 for our ministry and resources, we are also holding in our hearts, the circumstances of those we serve.
I (Gil) have been utilizing the online platforms to stay connected with Cambodian leaders and mine ministry opportunities virtually. Also, the class room activities at Calvin seminary have been all shifted to online classes. My learning curves have been steep for sure as we are all prompted for creative ways to do things. We pray to the Lord for wisdom in knowing how to enter the uncharted territory ahead of us.
As this crisis is forcing us to adapt to a new reality, we are trusting that our Savior is going ahead of us and guiding us in this uncertain time. Ministry doesn’t stop during a pandemic; in fact, right now the need for hope is growing even as fundraising becomes more and more difficult—that’s why your continued support is so important. Now through April 30, a Resonate donor will match any amount you give through this page: Double Your Impact
Thank you again for your faithfulness in mission. Please encourage your loved ones and your church during this crisis, and continue to remember us in prayer. We happen to be on home assignment but our colleagues in SE Asia and other parts of the world have chosen to stay in the field, and this has consequences for connecting to and being with their families through this crisis.
Gil & Joyce Suh
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