Sunday, 16 March 2008
Reflections: On Palm Sunday
The Celebration Day of Jesus' Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem.
I had never seen what I learned in Church on Palm Sunday. What A Revelation! The manner in which Palm Sunday was all about. Jesus was on His way for His coronation on Good Friday. Jesus was crown King of the Jews and came into His kingdom on a cross.
I used my imagination to see what could have happened on Palm Sunday. I closed my eyes. I waved my palm branch. I welcomed Jesus into our midst. Celebrating the VICTORY. I see a new light.
On My Journey of Transformation: Entering Into the Suffering with Jesus
Share in Jesus' distress when he says, How great is my distress until it is finished.
Jesus, I cannot truly imagine how You must have felt during the Holy Week. You cried and wept over the City of Jerusalem before You entered in. You knew what was not there. And had to go through with what was to come.
You allowed me to experience a cry of some sort. The crying and weeping that I had as I was coming into the city of Jerusalem.
I did not know why I was crying. But You did. I saw five words from scripture come to pass from Romans 15:25 ...I am going to Jerusalem.
Help me enter into this Holy Week with the compassion on how You must have felt. Guide me into the passion, sympathizing in with what You went through to the cross. Show me things that I have not yet seen.
Lord, the distress that You were under. The pressure that You faced while You were in the Garden of Gethemane. The thought of going through such pressure...I cannot bare.
I have seen much much lesser of pressure than You had experienced during the Holy Week. You foresaw some things that had to be done and having to face the fact of doing it.
There was a time when I had a short glimpse that You actually dead on the cross. I could not comprehend what I had thought. It was thought I was actually there.
Lord my mind could not bare the thought. I had to compose myself from that though. My mind can only comprehend with the Father allows.
O Lord, allow me to see what I cannot see. There was more to what You went through in Your suffering. Allow me and others who are entering into this suffering see the passion of You, LORD GOD.
Father God, I thank You that You allow us to go through DISTRESS so that we can be changed. There is more to what we go through that we don't understand. O God, help us to face what we cannot understand as we journey to the CROSS day by day in Jesus' name Amen.
The following is from Pastor Brian Zahnd's Blog.
It's PBZ's PS
An additional thought:
Holy Week is the church calendar commemoration of the events central to the gospel.
(Remember, we are saved by events, not ideas.)
The purpose of Holy Week is to become sympathetic with Jesus.
sympathy
Latin sympathia: syn (together) + pathos (passion)
Sympathy is shared passion.
If we will fellowship with Jesus in his suffering we will share his passion.
During Holy Week step into the Scriptures and fellowship with Jesus in his suffering.
Share his distress when he says,
How great is my distress until it is finished.
Share his sorrow when he says,
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death.
Share his agony when he pleads,
Abba, Father, let this cup pass from me.
Share his loneliness when he says,
Could you not watch with me one hour?
Share his disappointment when he says,
Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
Share his confusion when he cries,
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
If we can enter into fellowship with the human sufferings of Jesus, we can have authentic passion. We won’t have to resort to cheap gimmicks and appeal to the so-called "felt-needs" of human self-centeredness to generate excitement.
If we will fellowship with the sufferings of Jesus we will have the passion of a shared pathos. The fire that Jesus came to bring to the earth will be kindled in our hearts.
If we will walk with Jesus on the Via Dolorosa Road of Sorrow...We will walk with Jesus on the Emmaus Road of the Resurrection Surprise. And our hearts will burn within us...burn with holy passion.
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