Midnight Passion

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” John 12:23-28a.

Passion has little to do with zeal.
Or Enthusiasm.
Or Emotion.

Passion is not about feeling good.
Or enjoying life as if this life is all there is.
Passion is about determination.
And focus.
And pain.

Passion is about longing for something, believing in something, so much that you will do anything to get it.

Though the actual word is not in scripture, the closest we come is the concept of suffering.
Specifically, the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Thus, all over the world, this week is know as Passion Week.

It's not a week about a conference.
A collegiate movement.
A CD.
Or a gathering.

It's the week in which the Son of Man did the unthinkable.
Jesus wore the sinner's crown.
And He suffered and died alone.

In the earliest days of our journey, when most of you reading this were only a dream in our hearts, this definition of Passion guided our movement. Passion: the degree of difficulty we are willing to endure to accomplish the goal.

For us, this says it all.
And informs our story.
What Christ has done is unique in time and history.
His surrender gained for us eternal freedom.
His goal was to glorify God by showing Him to be the God of justice and mercy, the One who could be both just in regard to our rebellion and the justifier of those who put their trust in Him.

But the price would be steep.
Beyond compare.
Jesus had already voiced willing participation.
A babe had been born.
33 years of footsteps now led to this Passover meal.
To this upper room.
To this moment.

He looked them all squarely in the eyes.
This time, He declared as crumbs fell, I am the bread broken for you. The cup from now on, He affirmed, is my blood shed for your sins.

The time had come.
Nothing would deter Jesus now.

No disciple's desertion.
No weary flesh.
No soldiers commotion.
No false arrest.
No late night rail road in the court of the High Priest.
No lonely dungeon.
No dark night of the soul.

The goal of glorifying His Father was fixed in His gaze.
And a lonely journey had begun.
The mission would be accomplished.

A day we now call good seemed anything but that in the midnight hour.
A night of waiting none can fathom.

To be continued...