“LONGING”
Luke 22:14-16
And when the hour came, He reclined at table and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Before my son went off to college, he asked whether it would be possible for our family to have Communion together. (My husband is a pastor.) He felt a strong need for that gift of love—that union with Jesus and with one another—that source of comfort and strength. I understood what he meant, for I asked for the same gift before a possibly life-threatening surgery.
Jesus describes a similar feeling on the night before His death. He says to the disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” He knows what’s about to happen to Him. He knows who he’s going to do it for. And He takes comfort in these last few minutes with the people He loves. He spends them in the best way He can—celebrating the Passover, which is about to be fulfilled in His sacrificial death and His resurrection.
The disciples weren’t the only people He was thinking of that night, as John 17:20-24 makes clear. You are among those people He loves. His suffering, death, and resurrection are highly personal—because He faced them for you.
Prayer:
Lord, turn my heart to You and draw me close to You in love.
Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* When you are about to leave someone you love, what kinds of things do you do together?
* Do you ever have trouble believing that God cares about you?
* How do you find help in that situation?
Today’s Bible in a Year Reading:
Deuteronomy 1-2; Luke 2:1-24
Courtesy: Dr. Kari Vo.