Prompt thought of the week:
The disciples must have been excited and terrified all at once. The entrance into Jerusalem for Passover week had turned into a big deal. How would Jesus be received, by the people and by the authorities? And an entrance can define perception! Surely they would make as big a splash of confidence as possible. And then Jesus asks for a donkey. “A…donkey?!” Once again, Jesus demonstrates a love for peace and a love for common people by creating an entrance that proclaimed the power of God’s “kin-dom of heaven,” not Herod’s kingdom of oppression. Looking for love? Keep your eyes out for it in unexpected places.
When first presented with the choices of how Love has appeared to me, I was confused because I probably have experienced all of the listed approaches. I then went over all the Scripture passages, and for some unknown reason those for the Unexpected seem to resonate at least for the moment. The story of Jesus entering Jerusalem in Matthew is a reissue of Mark’s version which was written earlier. Further, whether it was Mark or someone else, they both quote the scriptures listed, Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:26, to give some authority to their writing. I find it wonderful that buried in the Hebrew Scriptures there are some folks who see a messiah-like figure as humble and a suffering servant. In the Lutz’s book group we once read a book about many different messiah-like figures who are much less well known. There are many reasons for the story of Jesus being a prominent part of world history, but I think the realization and the experience of his early followers that he was not the war-like king liberator was part of why his story endures. From what little we have about him, he reveals a God who, yes, loves the common folks but even the wealthy who seek him. That kind of love has probably always been unexpected. Marylee recently presented her reflection in church with a group of children and adults to help illustrate that God’s love extends to all of us. I thought about times when I didn’t feel included and more significantly when I didn’t include others. Fortunately I have grown some and there have been cases when I was included and was able to include others, unexpectedly.
Bill Snorf