Today we begin the most Holy week on the Christian calendar, in fact this week is known as Holy Week, or the week leading up to our Passover or Christian Easter. Friday we will have a service here to set a couple of moments to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s Crucifixion in our own lives, and then next Sunday, we will have early service on our front porch weather permitting, a Fellowship Breakfast, and then our Easter Proper Worship Service. Followed by a nap.
All the above (except for my nap), are intended for giving each of us an opportunity to step back from the hustle and bustle of our lives to reflect on where we are, where we are going, and just how blessed we indeed are in our God’s love for each of us! What a blessing that we have been given each other by God to appreciate and to worship Him together! That is why we are known as the Body of Christ, God’s family.
Yes today, we celebrate the arrival of the King of Israel, entering into His royal and holy city. As foretold by the prophets of old, our King would come to Jerusalem amongst joy and gladness, even as most would not realize the significance of what God was actually doing. Reading from Zachariah 9:9;
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
And indeed, the King, our God did indeed arrive to a welcome that would have made any one of us blush. But our Lord will yet again lead and teach us by example, for the royal entry into the King’s Holy city will be lowly and yet regal at the same time, by entering riding a foal of a donkey. Only our God can make things like this work! Confirming yet again that all that is transpiring before us in scripture is according to your Lord’s plan for the unfolding of history that will ultimately glorify our God.
God communicates glimpses of His plans to anyone who truly cares to listen, through His Holy Scripture. From Geneses thru to Revelation, your God provides illumination for anyone interested in a closer relationship in and with Him. For another look at how today, Palm Sunday is complimented by yet more scripture, please let me read from Psalm 118: 1-6, and then: 19-29;
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”
Let me interrupt the Psalmist briefly to say; the demographic used is interesting and telling. Because it applies to you and I today!
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
- All of Israel; That’s you and me adopted into the family of God, today!
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.” - House of Aaron; That’s you and me, because all of us have a calling and a ministry of service, as the High Priests of Old!
4 Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.” - All who fear the Lord; That’s you and me again, as our primary fear is not letting God, and His Family the Body of Christ down by not trying to grow and walk in His ways!
His love endures forever! On to verse 5;
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?…
As members of God’s family, we begin to realize that, God will be there to walk with us when we are in need, and that mere mortals can only inflict pain in this life, our Lord is there for eternity.
Skipping now to verses 19- 29. A part of this passage that will describe our Lord’s ministry for our edification and growth in God. Beginning with Jesus coming to His city Jerusalem and then into His Temple the House of the Lord, even though He has been rejected and misunderstood by those looking for only their image of who God is and not the Lord’s reality! Now verse 19;
…19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Our boughs today, festal branches of palms set aside for the very purpose of today’s festivities; to celebrate God doing what God said he would do through the life of Jesus, our Christ, Jesus, our Lord, God our King forever! You and I have the luxury of knowing the past, and who our Lord Jesus is. The children of Israel back then, like so many today, know the name of God, but are so imbedded in their own ideas of God (made in their own image of God), that they will be a fickle as the weather, changing their emotions, dedications, and commitments on a dime.
Yes, we mere people with a longevity of a whisper, with the durability of a blade of grass, or as petals on a flower, need something to anchor against our whimsical selfishness, and to cling with, for the long-haul of eternity.
For a Faithwalk to be more than a flash in the pan, we need to be able to draw on God’s Spirit, and His word inspired by His Spirit, to fuel our ever burgeoning need for; reassurance, sustenance, and growth. Regular excursions into scripture will help us in our ever-expanding requirement for discernment in life’s questions and challenges. To make the case, let me return to today’s Call to Worship reading that Robyn provided earlier. This time I would like to add to her reading, by adding some verses before and after her original Call. Reading this time, Isaiah 40: 3-5, 6-9, 10-12;
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”…
*Interrupting to say; When we know God’s word, His Spirit works within us to raise the valleys and lower the mountains of our blindness, our lostness, and our roots in Him begin to take deeper stock of who God is, and who we are in Him, for the long run. Now today’s reading, verses 6-9;
…6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”…
**If we are His; it will not matter what happens in this dimension of time, for God will raise in us a heart for all time, and eternity. Grass and floral beauty may wither, but God’s word and His exquisiteness is forever! Please let me follow up by reading yet another description of who our God is, and what He is like. It can’t do Him justice, but what can mere words read by a mortal like me do to describe the King of the universe? Now verses 10-12;
…10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Wow and wow again, and yet, who is the Lord?
When God said to Mosses back in Exodus 3:14 tell them “I Am” sent you (or Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, I am Becoming, that which I am Becoming possibly I will be what I will be. God’s name is a verb), wrap yourselves around that! God was saying that regardless of how long you try to wrap your head around who He is, you will never be able to comprehend His being. And yet it will not be a waste of your time to contemplate the greatness of God, and the smallness of us! (Perhaps what is becoming about God, is what we are beginning to understand about Him!)
For the Lord’s triumphal entry into His own city, the children of Israel will indeed rejoice. Sadly, this festive occasion will fade away as rapid as it takes for grass to wither. Perhaps it’s because the majority of those celebrating have a depth in the Lord not exceeding the toddler’s pool at the water park (I would have said dixie cup, but I used that one recently). Meaning without depth and a longing to grow in the Lord, the umph of miracle, loses its pazazz after a little while, and only is stimulated by more and more adrenaline without the nurturing of maturity.
Maybe that’s why our Lord didn’t push getting attention for all of those miracles He provided in the Gospels, because God wanted disciples, not patrons for dinner and a show. Reading today’s Message Reading from, Matthew 21:1-11;
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
We have the blessings of looking back and thinking this or that or what they should have said or done, or believed. Suffice to say, the appropriate comment would have been to quote Isaiah 40 the end of verse 9 and say… “Here is your God!”
But that would require the Spirit of God and a real and deep, and personal relationship in and with the Lord, from the heart. Those receiving this gift, can truly understand this week’s message title: Blindly Lost Then, Entered Our King! And by being in relationship with Him began to grow.
Perhaps this was why the children of Israel didn’t understand or recognize their Lord when He rode in on a colt. When we project who we believe God is… more than receive God as He is through His Spirit of; life, hope, grace, majesty, charity, kindness, blessedness, and love… possibly all we are stimulating is our adrenaline, and not our souls. Maybe that is why within a week of this splendid entry of joy, the crowd (once thought of as congregation) will turn to kill and destroy. Even their Lord!
This week (Holy Week) is intended to remember the story of a people who do not understand who their Lord is, and they are too full of their own selfishness, petty jealousies, fears, and their own ideas of God to recognize God. You know, you and me, on a good week. It is also the story of a God that loves us so much that He would walk this cesspool among those who made the cesspool, you and me. The Lord will prove His love for humanity over and again, with His ongoing instruction, patience, and ultimate sacrifice, forgiveness, and resurrection, all for you and me!
This week, my hope and prayer is that the Palm branch reminds each and every one of you to get some time alone with your Lord. To thank Him (you know why), ask His forgiveness (you know for what), Ask Him to teach you how to love like Him (you know for who), and then keep up that practice until you form a habit for life.
God bless you, my beautiful family in God!
Amen!