40 Days of Lent: Day 40

Luke 19: 35-36, 41-42  -- Syd H.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road...

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Put yourself in this scene:  thousands of people are cheering boisterously as a rabbi plods toward Jerusalem on a colt.  He comes over the top of a hill and sees the city spread out ahead of him.  He stops.  And then he buries his head in his hands and weeps loudly, so that his wails can be heard above the din of the crowd.  What an intense moment!

On the road to the cross we have the privilege of weeping with Jesus:  weeping over blindness, apathy, idolatry, oppression and injustice.  Weeping over all those things which -- on this Palm Sunday -- are about to be covered by the blood of the Lamb. 

Palm Sunday

Luke 19: 35-36, 41-42  -- Syd H.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road...

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Put yourself in this scene:  thousands of people are cheering boisterously as a rabbi plods toward Jerusalem on a colt.  He comes over the top of a hill and sees the city spread out ahead of him.  He stops.  And then he buries his head in his hands and weeps loudly, so that his wails can be heard above the din of the crowd.  What an intense moment!

On the road to the cross we have the privilege of weeping with Jesus:  weeping over blindness, apathy, idolatry, oppression and injustice.  Weeping over all those things which -- on this Palm Sunday -- are about to be covered by the blood of the Lamb.  

40 Days of Lent: Day 38

Luke 18: 35-43 -- Deborah R.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. 

This is the second time the disciples, those leading the way, were rebuking someone who wanted Jesus help. (Remember about the young children earlier in this chapter?)  You would think that they would have learned by now. 

Jesus had just finished telling the disciples about what was to happen in Jerusalem: he will be mocked, insulted, spit upon, flogged and killed. (v. 32) Given what he was about to face,  how could he be worried about one more blind person? But he was. And to that one man it made all the difference in his life. He began to follow Jesus.

How often are we in such a hurry for what we think is important and don’t have time to stop for those in real need? Perhaps if we stopped to help as Jesus did, those who are spiritually blind will see Jesus for the first time and decide to follow him.

40 Days of Lent: Day 37

Luke 18:  18-22 -- Deborah R.

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’]”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Treasure in heaven. Who would not want treasure in heaven? Obviously not this person since he went away sad, not willing to exchange what earthly things he had for treasure in heaven.

The truth of it is that to inherit treasure in heaven we have to let go of that which we hold to most tightly:  home, family, possessions, career, ambition, position, power. That is following Jesus all the way to the cross.

Sadly, this person didn’t know that following Jesus to the cross also meant resurrection – receiving many times as much in this age, and the age to come—eternal life. Ironically, he missed out on the very thing he wanted.

40 Days of Lent: Day 36

Luke 18: 15-17 - Deborah R. 

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to live and die out the greatest transformational event in all of human history—and yet he stops to invite little children to come to him.  Jesus knows about little children. He knows they are totally dependent on some else, they need someone who can provide for them, love them and care for them. They are weak and need someone strong.

In his own weakness and humility Jesus also looked to one to provide and care for him: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” was his dying cry.

Isn’t that what being humble is about, recognizing our weakness and depending on the one who is greater than ourselves? Let’s become like little children and commit our lives into the hands of our loving Father.

40 Days of Lent: Day 35

Day 35 -- Luke 18:  9-14 - Deborah R.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

You know that way to read scripture—identifying with a character in the passage? This is one that hits really hard since I often find myself in the very first clause. It is so easy to depend on the doing: going to church; not just reading but studying the Bible; praying regularly etc. etc. etc.

But Jesus is very blunt. Those doing things do not justify us before God. It is always the being, having a humble heart.

Jesus, the ultimate example, is on his way to demonstrate the greatest humility the world has ever know—being obedient unto death, even death on a cross! The daily prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” can re-orient us from our self-confidence to complete trust in God. Isn’t that what pleases him?

40 Days of Lent: Day 34

Luke 17:  11-19 -- Cam F. and Mark dV

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a   loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”   When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.   

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan.  

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”  Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

In this season we long for a restoration that is not yet here.  

There were thousands of lepers in Israel, but on this particular day, only 10 receive the restoration of their health.  Only 10!  Clearly the kingdom is not yet here.  

And only one of the ten returns to Jesus to give thanks.  Again, the kingdom is not yet here.  

The kingdom does not come in fullness, but a miracle begets another miracle. The hope is that the gift of healing compounds - one Samaritan, a half breed “foreigner”, returns in gratitude and praise. 

What Kingdom miracles have you seen? Take comfort and know that what has begun is only a tiny beginning.