The day was like the others had been. Breakfast together, then walking to the next town, talking with people along the way, seeing to the needs of the poor, the hurting, the confused…everyone who had any kind of need. As they approached Jerusalem, it was hard not to notice the crowds trailing around them. Excitement floated in the air as with each step they moved closer to Passover Week…only this time…they were with Jesus! Was this the time they awaited? Oh, surely. He was the King and the kingdom was near! And what perfect timing! During this week of remembering the lengths God used to free a nation and make them His people…would this now be the time when once again He freed them from oppressive governance?
When they approached Bethany and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His friends to get a donkey. It was time to enter the week that would change everything. Riding forward, the disciples and soon the crowd put robes on the ground to mark His procession. Oh, how they loved Him! This was the man who sat with them, listened to them, healed their diseased bodies and overburdened minds. He pointed them to a way of living so vastly different than the Roman government embodied. Belief, not suspicion. Love, not hate. Contentment, not greed. Kindness, not brutality. He was as different from the Romans as night is from day.
Like a wind whipping up. the exclamations of the people joined until the crowd swelled, everyone joined in cheering this man Jesus, welcoming Him, honoring Him…wanting Him to lead them to…somewhere…anywhere…just not here.
On this Palm Sunday, we sit in the midst of a global crisis. How human it is to wish for Jesus to come in and heal the sick, right politics, transform bitterness…Like the Jews, our hearts are weary with disappointment and grief. Yet, for Jesus, this was just the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus didn’t jump over the coming days, the coming conversations, the coming agonies. He took them as they came, not rushing through but moving with unfolding events. What a difference a week would make in how the Jews came to see Him. What steadfast belief and faith He showed in not jumping to the end of His story.
ACTION: Sitting in our own disappointments and grief as we begin Holy Week, how do you look at Jesus today? Who is the God you see? What would it be like to enter into the events of our day with honesty and yet with faith? What did the disciples need from that week that we might need as well?
