Reflection on John 13:3

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up…” (NRSV, John 13:3).

I am just going to stop right there with the phrase indicating that Jesus “got up.”  I need to hear that Jesus "got up" in these times such as these when it is so easy to feel pushed down.  The jokes about coming out of this pandemic quarantine 50 pounds heavier, as most jokes do, have some basis in something very real.  There is a lot to fear.  There is a lot to cause anxiety.  And, there is a lot of stress eating…and drinking.  There is just a lot in life right now; period. 

But, Jesus got up.  He gets up to serve the disciples by washing their feet.  So, obviously loving others and serving them in some way is the cure to all of this, but before any of that can happen we see that Jesus got up.  

How?  How is it that Jesus is able to just get up when the anxiety of the cross is so near to him…when the agony of the garden is close at hand?

I think, that it is no mistake that the writer of John prefaces the getting up with the words, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up…”   

There is power in knowing that you have come from God, and that no matter what happens in this world, that you are going to God.  There is a peace in knowing that you are God’s child, and that nothing will be able to snatch you out of God’s hands. 

You are God’s child.  You came from God, and no matter what happens, you are going to God.  And, that simple truth is enough for right now to allow us to get up.