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Happy Hosanna Friday, Beloved!

Today I am thinking about Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. What a wonderful story is there. We’ve heard it before, maybe seen it enacted in a movie or a play, and we have a pretty good idea of the events. I want to look at some of the characters and symbols in this story. In Matthew it goes like this:

Matthew 21:1 When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. 3 And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” 4 This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: 5 “Say to daughter Zion, ‘Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.

7 They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. 8 The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. 9 The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

And in Luke 19 we have these details:

29 As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. 30 He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.'” 32 So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” 34 They answered, “The Master has need of it.” 35 So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. 36 As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; 37 and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. 38 They proclaimed: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

In Zechariah 9:9 we read: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was, in part, a fulfillment of scripture. But there’s more. In Jesus day, and in many Eastern cultures, a donkey is seen as symbol of peace. A king who rides in on a donkey is coming peacefully. A king who rides in on a horse is coming in war. It is also significant that the colt Jesus’ disciples borrow is one that has never been ridden. Here the King of Peace is so gentle and so humble that even a young colt never before ridden submits to Jesus’ presence. Instead of bucking him off, the colt meekly carries a full-grown man. It is interesting to me that the disciples who went to fetch it did so without question, and then they put their own cloaks on the back of the colt to make a more comfortable seat. I think it might have also been more comfortable for the colt! And you know, I think that colt’s mama walked next to him on that journey. Read it again and see if you think so, too. But how did this come about?

How did the owner know it was OK to lend his animal to Jesus’ Disciples? The gospels don’t say, but as often as Jesus traveled through that area, he sure must have had more friends than just Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Since this must have been shortly after Lazarus was raised, maybe the guy who owned the colt had told Jesus, “If you ever need anything at all just let me know. It’s yours!” Just speculating about that is kind of fun, but really, we don’t know exactly what happened in that part of the story.

Jesus was in Bethany, close to Bethphage (“Place of new – or unripe – figs”) somewhere perhaps around the Mount of Olives. He gets on the colt in Bethany – about 2 miles from Jerusalem, and heads into town. On the way people who have seen him, who know him – some intimately, some only be reputation – get excited about seeing him, and they begin to remember Zechariah 9:9. They start pulling down palm fronds and laying them on the path in front of him or waving them in the air. The palm was a symbol of victory – even Holy Victory. In addition people were laying their cloaks down in the road and letting the little donkey pass over them. A similar event is reported in 2 Kings 9. [They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”] Elisha had just anointed Jehu (“Yahweh is He”) as King of Israel, and had ordered him to go avenge the murders committed by Jezebel’s forces when she had the prophets slaughtered. The king, Ahab, had permitted this, and Jehu was told to destroy Ahab as well.

Spreading cloaks or other object to “pave the way” was a common demonstration of respect for the dignity and power of a person – a King, a general, even a prophet. So now we have Jesus on a baby donkey (my mind keeps hearing the Christmas Carol “Little Donkey, Little Donkey, With a heavy load,”) and everyone is shouting and happy and cheering and dancing and running ahead and coming back and just going nuts over what Jesus is doing. He is finally defining himself as the Messiah, the Ruler of Israel, The Son of David! And, they surely thought he was about to kick the Romans out of town as the Rightful Ruler.

But, he was on a donkey, not a horse.

Can you imagine what’s going on in Jesus’ head? He’s going to Jerusalem in just six day to celebrate Passover for the last time. Then he will die a most horrible, terrifying, painful death. And he will be forsaken by his Father. On the way into town he looks out over Jerusalem and sheds tears because of what they have missed out on while he was with them, and then He just goes into town and busts up … Not the Romans! The Temple!!

Whoa! That was a surprise! And from there on, things sort of unfolded into The Last Supper, The Garden of Gethsemane, the pavement at Gabbatha, and finally Golgotha. In less than a week he went from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!”

Now you know a little about the story. When you are holding your palm branches Sunday, think about that little donkey and what a privilege it was to carry Jesus. Beloved, you can carry him too; in your heart, not on your back. Spread out your best things for him and invite him to have a seat. Carry him wherever you go and once in a while, just for the sheer JOY of it, shout, I said SHOUT, “HOSANNA!!”

Share-A-Prayer

• A special request from WT to pray for J. Joseph who was admitted to the hospital in her continuing fight with cancer. Pray for hope, healing, and health.
• Our MBN friends I Haiti report that many of the children and the workers too are ill. Sounds like a virus is sweeping through their numbers. Pray for return to health, and that the many new infants they have with them can stay hydrated and be strong enough to recover.
• Thank you for your prayers over the past few weeks. Please go back and look at the prayer requests from the beginning of Lent. I believe as you take the time to look at them, God will move your heart to make a special effort to embrace one or more of those requests.
• Thanks for the family of EW for sharing the news that E had gone to meet his Lord. He was – and still is – a remarkable man. You might remember him here.
• Thanks also from KV who reports prayer has been working for her and she feels pretty darn good!

Thanks everyone. Next week the message will be about Good Friday – sort of. Please watch for it on a computer screen near you!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!

chick

1114AFC040811 Take the stone away.

Read it online here.

Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved. We are already at the fifth Friday of Lent, and this coming Sunday the Gospel is about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. The account of Lazarus’ death and resurrection is powerfully emotionally and spiritually. This family was one of Jesus’ favorites. You can tell by the intimacy he enjoyed there that Jesus loved this trio of believers. It was Mary who anointed Jesus feet with fragrant spikenard ointment and dried his feet with her hair just six days before his Passion and Crucifixion, and this act prefigured his donning a towel and washing the feet of the apostles on that holy might. Jesus was at their house often, and perhaps they had known each other since before he began his ministry. We can imagine how these three people lived in their home in Bethany. There is no mention of other family or parents. Bethany was close to the Mount of Olives. Jesus passed through there on his way to Jerusalem more than once. It was near Bethany that the Disciples witnessed his Ascension. These three, then, were people Jesus really, really cared about. He loved them in a very special way.

Around the time of this event in Jesus’ life, there was a strong movement among some of the people to capture him and kill him. His Apostles, Disciples, and other friends were very concerned about these constant threats on his life. Jesus knew about the threats, and he also knew how it would all turn out, he knew what would ultimately happen to him near Bethany, in the Garden of Olivet. He knew what had happened to Lazarus, too; despite knowing all the pain associated with that knowledge – Lazarus was dead and Jesus would soon be crucified – Jesus stayed with his mission of teaching and healing. When someone tracked him down to tell him about Lazarus, Jesus told them, “He is only sleeping.” They took that to mean Lazarus was resting and getting better. He told them point-blank that Lazarus had died, but his death would not be the end of the story or his life. Finally he says he will go to his friends’ house so that he can demonstrate God’s power and will. That’s when one of my favorite Bible characters pops into view again. Here’s the passage.

John 11:1-45 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas fascinates me! He always seems to be a beat behind, or maybe he was just a strong pessimist, “Oh, well, if we’re going to Bethany, we’re all gonna die!” Then again, he might have been the bravest one in the bunch, ready to die with his Master and friend. Later on (John 14:5), Jesus is telling them – in the Last Discourse, “Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. You know where I’m going. I’ll come back and get you.” Thomas pops up again and says, “How can we know where you are going? We don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way?” And of course Thomas is most famous for saying, “I won’t believe he’s back until I see him for myself.” Thomas wasn’t in the Cenacle – the Upper Room – when Jesus first appeared to the 11 after his resurrection, and so he got stuck with the moniker “Doubting Thomas.” Odd that he should doubt Jesus was resurrected because he had been a witness to the resurrection of Lazarus. He stood there with Jesus, Mary and Martha, and all the other mourners as Jesus, his heart stirred emotion and tears in his eyes, and he shocked them all with what he said.

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

Everybody there went, “What?!?! It is not a good idea to move that stone. It’s going to smell really bad, and … you don’t really want to do that now. You should have come a week ago when he got sick and you could have healed him, but now, it’s too late. He’s rotting away in his grave.” Jesus must have given them quite a look before he turned toward the tomb where Lazarus had been placed. He told Martha straight out, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Somebody, maybe several people, maybe even Thomas (although there’s no way to know for sure who moved the stone) had the courage to lift that stone out of the way. Then The Moment:

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Lazarus came out of the tomb all wrapped up in the trappings of death. He came out to new life. He came out to fresh air, sunshine, solid ground, and within a short time – a few weeks, perhaps more – he and Jesus were reclining at the table enjoying a feast prepared by Martha and enjoying the fragrance of the ointment Mary was lovingly massaging into his feet.

Jesus’ tender sympathy for these friends shows us the very human side of his person. His heart is deeply moved, and he groans inwardly because of their pain. He joins them in shedding tears, but he is also hearing the cries of the mourners and sees the impact the loss of Lazarus has on this tiny community of Bethany. Together they had shared in the joys of life, in the happiness of Jesus’ visits, and now they shared in the mourning, weeping, and immense sorrow of these two sisters who had lost their beloved brother, a brother who had entertained Jesus in his home. In fact, these sisters hoped and prayed that they would be reunited with their brother. They just did not expect it to happen that day!

Some of the bystanders had insinuated that if Jesus could make the blind see, he could sure have gotten here in time to save Lazarus’ life. Jesus actions deliberately counter that idea. He gave the something much more powerful that a healing to talk about. He gave them a resurrection in broad daylight in front of many witnesses.

So let’s get to the point. For whatever reason we doubt God’s love or Jesus saving power, he is always ready and able to exceed all our expectations. Whether we go to our death with him is from bravery or loyalty or from a sincere fatalism that recognizes our frailty, if we die with him we shall rise with him. And when we rise with him he will take us where has prepared a place for us. But we need to respond when he calls.

Take away the stone. The stone in front of your tomb. Move it! Yes. Take away whatever it is you are hiding behind, whatever it is that keeps you in your tomb of death, and step out to meet your Lord in the Light of his Word. He calls you to come away from the death of flesh to be alive in Spirit, alive in your Creator, your King, your Saviour, or as Thomas put it so well, “My Lord and my God!” Come away from the death of sin and come alive, renewed, revived, and resurrected from your former self. Shed the wrappings of death, and the stench of decay. Listen with your ears and listen with your heart. Strip away the things that bind you to your death. Loose the things that stop you from walking into his Light, his Everlasting Life. Be freed of the trappings of death. Take away the stone! He is calling you.

“Beloved, come forth!”

Rise up. Go to him. Live.

Share-A-Prayer
• Continue praying for RH. He’s having a terrible time dealing with a loved-one’s death. Help him return to the living by leaving the tomb behind and following the Master just as Lazarus did.
• Pray for KT who is traveling to her homeland. Travelers’ Safety is a special gift of Angels.
• Continue praying for JC as she still experiences some after effects of her tumor
• Offer up thank on behalf of CI and her family. They are all back together again in the same house. She still needs a job, but it is a blessing to be all together. They thank the MBN for their prayerful support.
• TH and KD also need to find meaningful work – as do millions of people. Pray for everyone, every one, who is being ravaged by this economic mess.
• Another praise report from NA who has found a place where she can set up her own living quarters and no longer live in her parent’s basement. Your prayers helped make that possible.
• Pray for each other, Beloved. Your sweet prayers have changed many a life.
• Pray for all the oppressed, and those suffering from all the disasters that have swept the world. Do everything you can to help them in every way you can.
• Pray for peace, and let it begin with you.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
chick

1113AFC040111 Fourth Friday in Lent “I once was blind but now I see.”

Read it online here.

1 Samuel 16:6-7, 12b-13 As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”

Eliab was Jesse’s eldest son, King David’s oldest brother. His name, Eliab, means “God is my Father.” When Samuel saw that Eliab was tall, good-looking, with that kingly-appearance the People had so admired in Saul when he was chosen King of Israel, Samuel thought, “this must be the one!” But Samuel was blind to the qualities in Eliab that made him unfit to be King. Eliab was argumentative (See 1 Samuel 17), and, as first-born, carried a sense of entitlement that made him a bossy big brother. Samuel couldn’t see that because he was looking at the exterior – in other words, the Worldly view. Even a Man of God can get distracted by the World and totally miss out on what the Spirit sees.

After Samuel had looked at all of Jesse’s seven sons, he discovered there was yet one, the youngest, tending the sheep. Samuel sent for him, and when that lad – David – arrived, all became clear because…

The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

God told Samuel he was looking at the heart of David, not the exterior. Now, the description of David here makes it clear he was a good-looking man, too. But what God saw on the inside – and there in David he saw “a man after my own heart.” (See Acts 13:22 and 1 Samuel 13:14.) And with David’s anointing with oil by Samuel, God infused his Life into David’s life through an anointing of the Holy Spirit. As we know, that did not prevent David from committing monumental sins, but we also know that David had an equally monumental capacity for repentance leading to reconciliation and forgiveness from God. David’s sins happened when he took his eyes off his Creator and focused instead on all Creation. He was blind to God when he sought his satisfaction in The World. He preferred the darkness of his own lusting to the Purity of God’s Light. He chose to be blind and to live in his self-imposed darkness even to the point of madness.

Ephesians 5:8-10 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. … Therefore, it * says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

* Many Bible scholars believe this was part of a hymn used in the early Christian church, one that would be familiar to the Ephesians much like “Amazing Grace” is familiar to Christians everywhere today.

When we love another, we try to please one that person. We find out what the other likes, what pleases them, and strive to provide whatever it is at whatever the cost. Such is love; the deeper the love, the deeper the cost. No one can outdo God’s generosity, and it is foolish to try, even foolish to believe we can somehow repay him. How then can we please him?

There’s the ultimate Bonus Question! “If I could answer that, I’d make millions!” Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know the answer isn’t that hard. Why? Because God seems to never tire of telling us what it takes to make him happy.

• Don’t make anyone or anything else more important to you than I AM.
• Do what I tell you to do and do that all the time
• Don’t be afraid of me; I love you and you are mine.
• Take care of yourself and your neighbors.
• Be kind to widows, orphans, prisoners, and foreigners.
• Don’t hurt anyone, but don’t be a wimp either. You can be humble and still be strong.
• Honor me by accepting and using all the gifts I give you
• Be like me. I AM Light. I AM Love. I AM justice tempered with mercy. I AM righteousness. I AM an integral part of you.
• Wake up! Stop dying in the Darkness and start living in the Light!
• All I need from you is a humble and contrite heart so there is plenty of room for me to fill up your life with countless blessings.

John:35-41{Jesus} said {to the man blind who had been blind from birth and whom Jesus had given his sight}, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him; the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”

This man, who is unnamed, is blind from birth – as was the world in which he lived. He took a leap of faith and asked Jesus to make him see. Jesus’ actions were … well, to me they seem a little unusual. He spits in the dirt, makes some clay, smears the clay on the guy’s eyes, and sends him to go wash off the mud at a pool in Siloam – a word that means “sent.” The man is sent by the Son of God who was sent to heal the world by washing clean the “clay” from which we are made, by cleaning the World off of us and out of us so the Light – Jesus – can be seen. And at the same time, the people who were supposed to be filled with the Light, to be the servants of I AM, are becoming more and more blinded by looking only at the worldly aspect of this healing – the “how” – and totally overlooking the spiritual meaning of the healing – the “who.” Who? A man in darkness all his life saved by the Light because he did as God asked.

Little Children, my Beloved, let us seek the Light and only the Light for that is what best pleases the Father of Lights. See James 1:17.

May God our Father continue to richly bless you in all things!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved

Share-A-Prayer
Thanksgiving and praise to God from the family of Prince and Kembo, two Brittany Spaniels who embarked on a week-long adventure and were finally returned to their loved ones. Dehydrated, a little the worse for wear, they are back at home recuperating. C&K thank all of you for your prayers on their behalf.

Our hearts and hopefully our wallets still go out to the people of Japan, and to the millions of people around the world suffering from the aftereffects of that tragedy. Please continue to prayerfully support all the recovery efforts.

Pray for our leaders – local, national, and international – that they will govern with morality, compassion, wisdom, and justice so that we can all live together in Peace. Pray especially for those who make it a point to be contrary to those four virtuous characteristics.

For MS and others who suffer from Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, we pray for strength throughout the treatment and healing process. Find out more at Madelyn Spence’s Corner.

Pray for all the Christian missionaries of whatever denomination, creed, or rite who carry the Word into the World. Pray that soon and very soon every living soul will have the Truth of Jesus delivered to them.

“It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” Let your little light shine, Beloved. It is such a comfort to many in these Dark times! See the Light! BE the Light!!