This coming Sunday we will wave the palm branches and celebrate, marking the day of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. I find it strange, in a way, that this is a celebration especially for those of us who are able to look back on those events. Unlike Jesus and the disciples we know exactly what is going to happen and it is far from pretty!! And yet it is a day in the life of the Christian community that speaks volumes to those who would follow after Jesus. One cannot help but think that Jesus knew by coming into Jerusalem in this manner meant that there was no turning back, no way out of the confrontations that would result and that the fall out could be anything and he did it anyway.
How many of us would have such commitment to the path we have chosen to follow? How many of us would be willing to face whatever comes our way in defense of our beliefs? As Christians we are asked to do just that. Time and again Jesus uttered “ follow me” and that meant following wherever he would lead. For me, this whole season of Easter and in particular Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, sets out before us what is required of us who choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We know that it will not always be an easy road, that we will be called upon to confront the darkness in our world, to rattle the authorities from time to time, to overturn the tables in our temples that have caused us to lose sight of the Kingdom of God, there will be opposition to what we proclaim and many will not like us. This coming week clearly outlines who we are called to be and where we are called to travel. We too will turn our faces toward Golgotha and we will need to discern whether or not we will follow. Are we really committed to walking this path!
Stages on the way ( resources from the Iona Community)
It was On Friday
It was on Friday
That they ended it all
Of course
They didn’t do it one by one
They weren’t brave enough
All the stones at one time
Or no stones thrown at all
They did it in crowds
In crowds where you can feel safe
And lose yourself
And shout things
You would never shout on your own
And do things
You would never do
If you felt the camera was watching you
It was a crowd in the church that did it
And a crowd in the civil service that did it
And a crowd in the street that did it
And a crowd on the hill that did it
And he said nothing
He took the insults
The bruises
The spit on the face
The thongs on the back
The curses in the ear
He took the sight of his friends turning away
Running away
And he said nothing
He let them do their worst
Until their worst was done
As on Friday they ended it all…
And would have finished themselves
had he not cried
“Father forgive them…”
And began the revolution.
Are we willing still to be part of this revolution that will lead us from the parade to the hill and beyond?
Blessings
Valerie