Pushing Through Dark Moments
- davidwperk
- Sep 19, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Thursday, September 19, 2024
Proper 19, the week of the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 985)
AM Psalm [70], 71; PM Psalm 74
Job 28:1-28; Acts 16:25-40; John 12:27-36a
Today we celebrate the Feast of .Theodore of Tarsus. (See below.)
David's Reflections
In verse 27 of today's Gospel, Jesus says, "Now is my soul troubled." This saying and the next, "And what should I say--'Father save me from this hour'"?, echo the prayer in Gethsemane, found in the Synoptic Gospels, the night of Jesus' arrest, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." That Gethsemane prayer does not occur in John.
In John 14:1, Jesus tells us, "Let not your hearts be troubled." The word translated "troubled" there is the same word translated "troubled" here. The one who told us not to let our hearts be troubled could say that his soul was troubled.
That same Jesus lives within and among us now. If he has experienced a troubled soul in the dread shadow of suffering and death, then he can live into ours dark moment, share it with us, and bear it with us. His experience teaches us that we cannot expect to live free from the shock waves of impending ordeal. He did not.
But we can expect of ourselves not to be dominated by dread. Those feelings can be raw, powerful, and paralyzing. It takes emotional courage to keep going in the face of them, to push through the dark moment. Jesus had that courage; he can embolden us to push against any darkness and trembling of soul, enabling us to act on the tough choices that we would avoid were that option open to us. These thoughts sparked encouragement in me during those troubling times of the pandemic and its accompanying social strife.
If we find ourselves emboldened by God, will the soul tremors disappear? No! Courage does not mean the absence of fear or anxiety. Rather, it means the ability to act consistently with our values in the face of overpowering emotions to the contrary. Jesus found courage in God’s voice to move ahead through his darkness and tremor of soul toward rejection, profound suffering, and death. That voice assured him that God would be glorified through his sufferings. He found courage in the center of his being where God dwelt.
In his remarkable book, The Courage to Create, Rollo May said:
" . .. courage will not be the opposite of despair. We shall often be faced with despair, as indeed every sensitive person has been during the last several decades in this country. . . . courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.”
"A chief characteristic of this courage is that it requires a centeredness within our own being, without which we would feel ourselves to be a vacuum. The 'emptiness' within corresponds to apathy without; and apathy adds up, in the long run, to cowardice. That is why we must always base our commitment in the center of our own being, or else no commitment will be ultimately authentic.”*
We can see Jesus maintaining his center in God through emotional honesty with God in prayer and sharing his plight in community with his followers. Those hints could help us center up in God in similar moments. Be transparent with God and entrust ourselves to the supportive presence of people in our community of faith. Undergirded by grace we can push through any dark moment to a brighter space.
*Rollo May, The Courage to Create (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975), pp. 12-13.
Collect of the Day, Proper 19, the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 233)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 19 September 690 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Theodore of Tarsus
Almighty God, who gave your servant Theodore of Tarsus gifts of grace and wisdom to establish unity where there had been division and order where there had been chaos: Create in your church, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, such godly union and concord that it may proclaim, both by word and example, the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Protection
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 124)
For the Parish
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 817)
A Collect for the Presence of Christ
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)
A Collect for Mission
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 124)
Daily Office Gospel, John 12:27-36
27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ 35Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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