Raise!Sample

Rise!

Peter thought he was ready for battle when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. He raised his man-made sword and proceeded to swing it wildly, chopping off the servant Malchus’s ear. We watch Jesus, with no anxiety or panic about him, reach out and touch the man’s ear, immediately healing it.

At the Mount of Olives, hours before Peter’s sword-swinging behaviour, Jesus teaches another way to fight battles. He kneels, agonising in prayer, wrestling with the will of God his Father. It is a battle with darkness for the restoration of the world. He is being called to give up his life. Jesus fights this battle on his knees, in relationship with his Father, sweating drops of blood, in agony. Peter, with the other disciples, sleeps. Jesus asks them, ‘What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won’t give in to temptation’.

How do we fight life’s battles? What is the weapon we raise? We can fashion many self-made weapons. We can raise our voices, our emotions, our typed words, even our fists. Sometimes we swing wildly, expecting, like Peter, we will win the battle. I know, when I fight battles on my own the outcome is unproductive and anxiety-producing. Jesus tells us, ‘Put your sword away!’ and the Lord reminds us that the battles fought are ‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ (Zechariah 4:6). This is the gift of the cross and the empty tomb.

When the battle comes Jesus is prepared. He has been with his heavenly Father. He says to the disciples, ‘Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’ (Matthew 26:46). Time with his Father has made him ready to rise and face the battle ahead.

On any day we face battles in this world and in our lives. Let us begin to fight by raising a prayer. Let us be with our heavenly Father, hear the word ‘Rise!’ and, with our Saviour, confidently go out to face the battle.