What weapons do you bring to arrest the son of God?
I can imagine the soldiers quaking at the thought of arresting Jesus with their clubs and swords, tools which must have seemed so impotent in the face of Jesus Christ. They'd heard the stories, they likely understood that his power was far greater than anything they had in their armory.
God had made a promise in Scripture, and Jesus was here to keep it, no matter what. And so he went with the soldiers and their weapons, despite his superior power. When Peter pulled out his sword to fight, Jesus was pointing him to a bigger picture, to a greater fight, to a larger story that was being told.
It's important to keep our eyes on that narrative. The news will often pull your head down into the smaller stories, and we'll get lost in fear and hopelessness there. We find anxiety when we lose track of the greater story, for we lose track of our true identity.
But when we focus on the larger story, then we're not pulling out our swords at every opportunity. When we're certain that we're rooted in eternity and anchored in the love of Christ, then we're able to enter into the smaller stories without getting lost in them. We can go to the dark places and proclaim grace and love without fear of losing who we are, without fear of being lost. We can go to people experiencing loss and sit in the darkness, trusting that there will yet be another dawn. We can go to the darkest corners of the world and know that we will not be lost there, for we have been claimed by the light and marked as Christ's own forever. There is hope when we remember who we are, and we don't need swords, for we have grace and light and peace, and that is sufficient.
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