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Malchus, a Life Turned Upside Down in an Instant


markdohle

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Malchus, a Life Turned Upside Down in an Instant
 
The chief priests had come for Christ with a detachment of soldiers. They were about to haul him away, but Peter tried to show his loyalty to his master. He was probably aiming to kill but because he was merely a fisherman, he may not have had a lot of sword practice. Jesus picked up the ear and healed Malchus, rebuking Peter for his misplaced zeal. - David Miller
 
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Over the years my fascination with Malchus has grown.  When pondering the seizure of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, I often get stuck over the enormity of what happened to Malchus.  In many ways, it is like St. Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, when the risen Lord appeared to him.  From one moment to the next, a life was totally turned upside down.  This can happen in many ways, and the experience can often be a tragedy. It happens often in the space of a day.  Accidents, killings, natural disasters, sudden illnesses, the list can seem endless.  It shows how uncertain our lives are, though we try not to think about it too often.  I think that is wise.
 
Then there is the experience of the transcendent.  Which can be both exalting for the experiencer, but also extremely traumatic.  St. Paul went blind for three days, and no wonder.  Talk about being shifted, shaken, and left with one’s life in a shambles. 
 
Imagine for a moment how intense the moment was when Peter took out his sword and struck Malchus.  Perhaps Peter did not pick Malchus out, he was just in the right place to have his ear cut off.  One inch more and he would have been killed.  Perhaps no one noticed because there was so much going on, and Peter and the Apostles, could all have been killed if Jesus had not intervened and told Peter to put his sword away. 
 
I would also imagine that no one noticed what Jesus did, he saw a need, reached out, and touched Malchus, in an act of love and compassion.  For Malchus, time probably stood still.  The shock, the pain, must have been tremendous blocking out all else.  Yet suddenly he saw Jesus bending down over him, and felt the warmth of his healing touch, and perhaps saw the compassion, love, and understanding in the eyes of the very man he was seeking to arrest with the others, and filled with anger and hatred towards him.  I do not doubt that it all changed in a second. 
 
When Jesus was taken away, did Malchus stay behind, perhaps still on his knees, since pain can do that, throw us on our knees, with no one understanding what it is we feel.   Yet he experienced Jesus, his total presence to him, even in the midst of chaos, fear, and anger.  Perhaps he was enveloped in a deep silence since in one second he was propelled into a larger reality, perhaps he saw his whole life differently, how wrong and misguided he was in many other areas of his life?  We will all have to walk through fire one day when we face our own lives as well.
 
I can be deaf, and blind, uncomprehending, even if at the time I do not realize it.  The Lord has mercy on us because it is his nature.  Love and mercy go together.  Since we are his creation, he understands how easily it is for me to get lost in my own private take on life, and how I can lose a real sense of myself, and lose my way.  So when I am wounded, Jesus reaches out, as he does for all, and touches my ear, seeking to get me to listen to his gentle, soft voice.  He leads me back gently to trust and love.  This happens over and over again.
 
Malchus was one of the many there to arrest Jesus.   For Jesus, when He healed him, he was the only one there, the Lord’s focus was absolute. The healing was not done lightly, but with a gesture that was filled with compassion, empathy, and yes infinite love.   Something way beyond my comprehension to understand, yet I trust in that reality, and pray for that to become ever more real to me.
 
Each human being, no matter how forgotten by others, is ‘Malchus” for the Lord.  We are all Malchus. 
 
Our wounds do not hinder the Lord’s work in our lives.  Though we can stop it, since we do have the ability to grow in freedom, and the ability to turn away from the very love that seeks to bring us healing on every level.  Yet, only the Lord truly sees us, only he truly knows us, only he can lead us back to the father. 
 
Jesus met Malchus where he was at.  He healed him, I wonder what that did for him in his life?-Br.MD
 
 
 

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