THIS is the day

The irony of getting to hold a spotless baby lamb on 

Holy Week was not lost on me. 

I love holy week.  For me, it is a week to slow down and meditate...kind of a reboot. To be honest, it is really easy for me to slip back into the pattern of thinking that I have to work hard to earn God's love.  When I start acting like an employee instead of a daughter, something needs to change.  This is the week that reminds me again of just who I am.  I think the thing that amazes me the most about this week in the life of Jesus is His intentionality.  Jesus came knowing. He knew he'd be hated by His enemies, or worse, betrayed by his friends.  He knew He'd be used by people and mocked.  He knew the physical and emotional agony that awaited Him.  Yet He still came.

Today is Maundy Thursday--the day Jesus had His last supper with His disciples.  In this story too, it is His intentionality that sticks out to me the most.  Most of you have probably read a lot about the meal itself and understand the symbolism of "Take, eat; this is my body" and "this is my blood which is shed for the remission of sins." What you don't read much about is "and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives,"  but it is just as powerful.  The thing is that we know what hymn Jesus sang that evening; it was the same hymn that had been sung at every Passover since Passover began.  It was Psalm 113-118.  Do you know what Psalm 118:24 is?  I bet you do, and you don't even realize it.  You probably split into groups and sang it as a round when you were a little kid in Sunday school.  "This is the day...this is the day...that the Lord hath made...that the Lord hath made...I will rejoice...I will rejoice...and be glad in it....and be glad in it."  Did you read it just now or sing it?  I sang it as I typed it.  The powerful thing about this is that a Jewish day goes from sunset to sunset. which means that on Thursday night when Jesus sang those words,  He was singing them about the day of His own crucifixion.  He knew what was getting ready to happen that day and He still sang "THIS is the day that the Lord hath made; I will REJOICE and be GLAD in it."  How could Jesus possibly be glad and rejoice about a day that would be filled with physical and emotional torture?  Hebrews 12:2 gives us the answer.  "...who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."  What's the joy that was set before Him?  There's only a couple of things that could be:  the joy of obedience to the Father and the joy of making it possible to have us with Him one day.  I think it's probably a combination of both.  His love for the Father and His love for us made it possible for Him to say, "This is the day that the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it."  He loves me.  He loves you.  Very intentionally.