Mark 14:1-2: The Plot
Barna da Siena: The Pact of Judas
Thursday, September 1, 2022
And they plotted to do away with Jesus . . .
We have spent time thinking about what it must have taken to plot against a man who showed such compassion for the ill that he put his own life in jeopardy to heal them on the Sabbath. We have meditated on what it must be like to live in such fear that we annihilate one another in our attempt to survive, even to the point of wiping out the innocent. Today we turn again to a familiar refrain . . . the plot against Jesus . . . they were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death . . .
Some of the verses in the MAGNIFICAT Morning Psalm remind us of how we can allow ourselves to be twisted by evil when we stray too far from God.
Sin speaks to the sinner
In the depths of the heart.
There is no fear of the God
Before his eyes.
He so flatters himself in his mind
That he knows not his guilt.
In his mouth are mischief and deceit.
All wisdom is gone.
He plots the defeat of goodness
As he lies on his bed.
He has set his foot on evil ways,
He clings to what is evil.
If we do not want to become one who connives with others to bring about the end of those we distrust, we must first trust God – and then ourselves.
If we do not want to become one who conspires with others to bring about the end of those we dislike, we must first love God – and then ourselves.
If we do not want to become one who becomes lost forever in the plot we ourselves weave, we must first turn to God and willingly give up the tools of deceit and darkness – and then to ourselves . . . to step into the newness we are offered.
Image from: https://www.raydowning.com/blog/2020/3/19/holy-week-in-art-jesus-plots-to-betray-jesus
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT.10.9 (2010). Print.
A favorite from September 10, 2010.
The Noontimes 
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