The Upload
Posted on Apr 11, 2014 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
As we prepare for Holy Week, we prepare to celebrate what many find to be a confusing holiday, Palm Sunday. Think about it, on this day, we begin our worship with great joy by reading about the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It’s a great time of joy and just when you think we will continue the celebration, we suddenly stop and read about the Passion, that is the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Why do we do such a thing? Why not take a whole day just to relish in the joy of people praising Jesus and shouting “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
When Jesus road into Jerusalem that day, the crowds were excited because in their minds, Jesus, the Messiah had arrived and they were thinking about everything this new messiah, was going to do for them. He was going to overthrow Caesar and free Israel from Roman occupation. He would once again make Israel a great nation, like King David did. And he was going to continue to heal them and make sure there was food on every table. The glory and joy they felt was all about them.
But, truth be told, Jesus was not the kind of messiah they thought he was. Jesus was the messiah that came not to condemn this world, nor did he come to justify this world. He came to show us how to live in this world differently. He came to show us that in this world, no matter how bad things look, or how good things seem to be, God is ALWAYS present and in our midst. Jesus came to show us that in our desire to seek power, in our desires to have more, in our own brokenness, God’s mercy still abounds. Jesus was the kind of messiah who came to stand with those who were suffering, those who were weak, those who knew pain and he came to walk with them. Jesus came not to eliminate our death, but to assure us that death was not the end. He came to show us that God, through the passion of his Son, would overcome death. None of this, though, is what those that were singing Jesus’ praises were thinking about on that first triumphal entry into Jerusalem that day. No, they were thinking of their own glory, not God’s, and when they realized that Jesus was not going to use violence to overthrow Rome, when they realized that this “messiah” was willing to die, they quickly turned on him and in place of “Hosanna…” they shouted “Crucify Him!”
Palm Sunday, helps us see how quickly we, too, can, and do, turn from our Lord. We are just like those who first shouted “Hosanna, Son of David…!”, for we, too, shout these words often, then when life doesn’t go our way, we say, where is God, why has God done this to us, and we walk away from him.
But unlike those who first shouted “Crucify Him!” we know the rest of the story, we know that in our brokenness we will too often shout, “Crucify Him!” but when we do, we also know that our messiah does not leave us, he does not turn from us, instead, as we will hear on Good Friday, our messiah, The Messiah, says, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?”
I pray as we enter into this holiest of weeks that you know you are forgiven and that you are loved.
Have a blessed week.
Shalom,
Pastor Dave