A NOTE FROM PASTOR MARGE
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “If it were a snake, it would’ve bit you?” It’s a phrase said humorously when one is looking for something that is right in front of them. This is the phrase I thought of as I was reading through Luke’s account of Palm Sunday.
Today is indeed Palm Sunday, the day that marks the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish holiday of Passover. It’s a day in the life of the church where we usually reflect on Jesus’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, but according to the Gospel writer Luke, perhaps his entrance was not so triumphant.
According to Luke, there were two primary reactions. The first reaction was that of the crowd, where they praised God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen Jesus perform, such as the healing of Bartimaeus and the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
But then there was Jesus’s reaction. What did Jesus do as he approached Jerusalem? He wept. Why? He witnessed the spiritual blindness of his so-called followers. The people praising Jesus as he entered Jerusalem failed to clearly see Jesus for who he really was. Instead of praising him for being the Messiah, the one whom God had chosen to save His people from sin and death, they simply praised him for the good works and miracles He performed. They missed what had been right in front of them the whole time, which was Christ’s true identity.
As we enter into Holy Week and celebrate Easter next Sunday, my prayer and hope is that we do not fail to acknowledge Jesus for who he really was and is. Jesus Christ is so much more than just a great prophet or wise man or miracle worker. He indeed is all of those things, but even more so he is the Christ, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, the Son of God, Light of the World, King of Kings, the Lamb of God, the Author of Life, the Good Shepherd, Immanuel, our Redeemer, the Horn of Salvation, the Light of the World, Lord of All, the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, the Resurrection and Life, our Passover Lamb and the Savior of all people.
May we be a people no longer trapped by our own spiritual blindness but rather a people whose eyes have been forever opened by our perfect, spotless Passover Lamb who was slain so that we could be forever saved.
Marge
