journey onWord with us

I have shared in years past, how important and sacred this specific week has become in my journey of following Jesus.  As we stand at the dawn of the most incredible week in human history and look forward, how could it not be?  The people, places and events of this week are unlike any other in the earthly life of Jesus.  And before the sun is high in the sky this same day next week, the plan of redemption created in eternity past will find final fulfillment!

As i sat down with my proverbial pen in hand this year, ready to consider what God might choose to speak through it, i was met with the truth that there is another week that has come to mean just as much … the week prior to Holy Week.  For that is when i begin to immerse myself in the steps and stories of Holy Week so that articles are ready to be posted at the proper time.  i sometimes wish i could write in the “offseason.”  The time when there are no deadlines and i could sit with things a bit longer or revisit them if there was need.  But that is not who God has made me to be.  It is my way to stay intensely present in the moment.  And, for me, that means writing just before the dawn of the approaching moment.  i thank God for the inspiration each year that allows me to be true to my created core – my true self.  This year, in the days leading up to sitting down with my proverbial pen, God whispered a deep desire to see Jesus more truly and fully in the events of this week.  There is so much which can be drawn out of what He says and does, but i wonder sometimes whether that shifts the focus away from Him to the “lesson” or the truth itself.  On each occasion of sitting down to write this week, i will begin with a prayer that i see Jesus more truly and completely.  i pray that you will as well.

Today is coronation day.  “All Hail King Jesus!” is what the multitudes who have gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover are saying with their presence and palm fronds.  Their audible cries are “Hosanna!” — “Save us, Jesus!”  Word has quickly spread that Jesus is coming to town and the normal bustle of Passover prep spills over to one of the main gates and roads leading into and through the city.

As Jesus and his traveling company neared Jerusalem, He stopped to give instructions to two of His disciples to go ahead of them to a nearby village and retrieve a young donkey.  In the same manner He entered the world, He will enter the city.  Not as a king of royal stature, but as a King of the least-shall-be-first sort — a message He has consistently lived and taught for the entirety of His earthly life.

i was gripped, in reading the handful of verses which tell this story, by the suggestion of what Jesus must have been thinking along the road to Jerusalem, and then into and through the city.  He was fully man, yet He was also fully God, so the road ahead was crystal clear.  He knew what He was walking toward, and it wasn’t a coronation of the sort the crowds planned today.  He would eventually be nailed to His earthly throne, and the crown placed on His head would draw blood.

If you or i had ridden into Jerusalem that day on the back of the young donkey, what would our gaze and demeanor have spoken to the throngs who shouted, “Hosanna!”?  i would suggest our stare would have likely burned a hole through each heart.  Yet when i try to picture Jesus in that moment, i can only see audacious mercy and scandalous grace.  If you or i had been one in that crowd who caught the glance of the Savior, what would we have seen?  i suppose that could also lead me to ask, what do you see right now?  If you were to, as the old hymn says, turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full into His wonderful face, what do you see?  Do you see a stare that burns a hole in your heart, a stare of condemnation for the miserable sinner and daily failure you are?  Or do you see eyes that seem a thousand miles deep and reveal a heart that is broken for what sin has done to this world, and to you?  Eyes that say, “I know what you’ll shout just a few days from now, but I am not here to condemn you.  I have come to save you!”

Are you not overwhelmed with what Jesus did for your?!  Can you see Jesus today, standing and waiting for the disciples to return with the young donkey, with the full extent of what He is walking toward in full view, and saying “Yes. I will begin walking, and I will finish what my Father has sent Me here to accomplish!”?  Can you see that He sees your face as He stops, waits, and then rides into Jerusalem?

As we stand at the dawn of the most incredible week in human history, i pray that you can see Him seeing you.  And i pray that as we navigate this week together, you choose to allow the faces and places of this week to fade to the periphery and focus only on Jesus.  May we see Him more truly and completely this week.  He is Risen!