Lent - The day after the parade

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.
Psalm 89:1

There wasn't a dedicated team to come and clean up the palms and cloaks that had been thrown before the colt who carried it's first rider just the day before.  Everywhere you looked, people were still wandering, and as they gathered, the questions had to continue to circulate, "What did we just see?"

Outside the city, a few of the disciples gathered, and somewhere off in the distance, a colt was eating grass and resting.

I've often wondered what was going through the mind of Jesus about now.  While scripture doesn't mention the presence of Satan, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't in the shadows, waiting for the "Son of Man," to consider the offer of being able to rule over these people.  "It would be so easy for you to change all of this," he whispers to Jesus.

I am reminded of the times where my own pride and ego have overwhelmed the choice to do the "right thing."

Jesus has not marched, but rode into town.  Not on a horse designed for battle, but on something that would resemble an animal from a petting zoo.  A colt.

Jesus must have towered over the creature as it maneuvered through the crowd that pressed in, yelling "Hosanna!  Hosanna!"

This scene is the ultimate implications of the mystery of the incarnation!  

Where is God?  God is where the streets are lined with people who are weak, vulnerable, small and dependent.  God is where the poor are, the hungry, those with disabilities, the mentally ill, the elderly and the powerless.

How can we know God when our focus is elsewhere?  If there is one thing that this Palm Sunday taught me as I shared with our church virtually, is that I realize more each day that our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to be present where there is brokenness, loneliness and human need.

One thing that we are all learning about the church at this point, is that the church will always have a future.  It just may look a little different.  We can continue to search for ways to live and grow in belief, even during this time.  We can also learn to find new ways we can support each other.

I realize that the only way for us to stay well in the midst of a world that is telling us to stay home, is to stay close to the incarnation of God, Jesus, who arrived on a colt, vulnerable in a crowd of people.  We are to find ways to invite the incarnation into our lives, and in our hearts.  Often we forget that the incarnation of God, the Christ child, and Jesus the man, is within us.  

When we discover this, no matter where we find ourselves, we can truly cry out, "Hosanna!"  God is with us, "Emmanuel!"

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2020