Lent... Where two ways meet

And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
~ Mark 11:4
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Before the palms and the shouts of "Hosanna!" through the crowds, there was a task that had to be completed by the Disciples. A colt had to be acquired.

The gospel writer Mark notes that the colt will be found in a place where "two roads meet." While it may sound like simple navigational tools, for me it is more than just a mile marker along the way. It is the reminder that this colt which would carry Jesus into the city, is symbolically located where two traditions were about to unfold.

Yesterday I reminded people during my Palm Sunday sermon that Jesus did not come to "abolish the law, but to fulfill it." (Matthew 5:17)

Jesus is allowing for a new way, a new relationship with the Creator. I think that we can seriously forget where we came from at times. Just because two roads meet, doesn't mean that we have lost our way. We still have a place from where we came from.

The colt itself, is meant to be the reminder it was to be a gentle ride into the city. Not one on a stallion that would signify a great soldier, or for that matter, someone who was about to go into battle. No, a simple colt, gathered from a place where two roads met, that would carry a Savior that would save all humanity, no matter what their path.

Not by force, but by humility and love.

We are the ones who were crying out, "Hosanna!" We are the ones who even today call out, "God save us," which is what "Hosanna" literally means. It is not a battle cry! It is our acknowledgement that we need Jesus to enter our lives.

While the city celebrates a king, one of the paths where the road is met by Jesus on a colt, is seeking to find a way to stop Jesus' journey.

Two paths meet as Jesus rides. "Hosanna! God save us!"

Stay in God's grip!

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2019