Reflections for Lent

Mark 11:1-11 NRSV

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Palm Sunday has brought a mixture of feelings to me for years. The more I reflect on the life of Jesus, the more poignant the account of His “Triumphant Entry” seems. For Jesus, the enthusiasm of the crowd, their expectation of His plans and purposes, so at odds with His own, must have been bitter-sweet. Jesus deliberately chose to put Himself in harm’s way by accepting the role of the promised Messiah as foretold by the prophet. “Behold, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, humble and riding on the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

 Jesus knew the hopes of those who shouted “Hosanna!” which translated from the Hebrew/Aramaic means “save us”, and He knew of the disappointment that would follow His doing nothing to threaten the Roman rule. He knew the implications the religious leaders would see and their likely reactions. Within days He was rejected and killed. What are our expectations of Jesus? Do we adopt the “prosperity gospel”, always popular, which sees Faith rewarded with ease and abundance? Or do we attempt the hard, next-to-impossible challenge of following Jesus and trusting, as He did, that Good will prevail over Evil? 

~Sally McKibben~ 

“Day by day, dear Lord for these three things I pray: To see Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”