A Thought

“As Jesus drew near, he saw the city of Jerusalem and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side, and level you; and your children within you, to the ground.  And they  will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”  Luke 19:41-44

It should be clear to feel the anguish Jesus must have been experiencing in this moment.  He had already entered into Jerusalem, and the joy that had greeted Him upon His arrival was now gone.  Reality was beginning to settle in, and Jesus knew what lay ahead for Him.  The city that should have received Messiah with joy and thanksgiving would very soon turn on Him.  And why?  Well, why is He rejected today?  I think these answers will come near to those of Jesus’ own day.

Let us not take this Holy Week for granted.  We can clearly see around us the problems we face as a Church and as a nation, and we have tried everything we can possibly think of to solve our problems – except one: truly give it over to the Lord AS A PEOPLE.  Oh, there are some individuals who try to set the world aside and connect with the Lord, but the Church must lead the way.  Not “a” church or “some” churches and not “some” individuals, but THE WHOLE Church; the Body of Christ.  The lament Jesus shares about Jerusalem could well be the same lamentation He would share if He were standing in the big middle of the USA! 

Attend worship this week wherever the doors are open.  Stop teaching children that it is ok to remove oneself from worship.  Stop teaching the community and your neighbors that it doesn’t matter … lest you find that the prayer Jesus shared then is the same one He shares now: that the things that would “make for your peace … are now hidden from your eyes”.

Blessings,

Michael