Your Gimme Cinco this week is going to be a little different. For Holy Week I plan to reflect with gratitude upon the daily lectionary readings Monday through Friday. Each of the five days will be a thanksgiving meditation related to the daily readings. Feel free to respond daily, on the traditional Hump Day Wednesday, or as you are able throughout the week.
The Gospel passage for the day includes John's version of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
St. John 12:12-19 (The Message)
12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in God's name!
Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:
No fear, Daughter Zion:
See how your king comes,
riding a donkey's colt.
16The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.
17-19The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: "It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after him."
I give thanks today that the coming of Jesus confounds the religious establishment. I consider myself part of this confounded group. Like any other institution, the church and other religious organizations put a premium on control. We want to control the crowds that show up. We want to be gatekeepers and control who gets in and who gets out. We are oftentimes willing to sacrifice spontaneity and freedom of the Spirit at the altar of decency and order. The religious establishment of Jesus' day seemed to have that feeling about Jesus and his followers. Jesus was a threat to the established religious order. The world was in a stampede after him. We learn what this means when the passage following this one brings Greeks seeking to meet Jesus. The Pharisees weren't happy that the walls they had carefully built to keep out the unclean were being torn down by a Peasant on a donkey. I give thanks that, somehow, faithful people throughout the ages have been able to stay open to the dis-ordering of the Spirit. Many "good," mainline Christians might show up at Grandview Park and say "It's out of control." The world is indeed in a stampede after the Good News of Jesus. We get a taste of that every Sunday morning at GP. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for opening our doors and coming in to be with us. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
The evening Psalm for today is one of my favorites. So, I close with Psalm 121.
Psalm 121
A Pilgrim Song
1-2 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4 He won't let you stumble,
your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel's
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
5-6 God's your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.
The Peace of Christ be with you all this Holy Week,
Pastor Rick
Don't forget this week's schedule:
Potluck/Seder/Communion - Thursday - 6:30 pm (please bring a side dish to share)
Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Noon - Washington Park on the north side of Crown Center (Sponsored by Holy Family Catholic Worker House)
Deacons and Elders meeting - Saturday - 3:30 pm (Please be in prayer and fasting for this meeting)
Sunrise Service - Sunday - Begins at 6:30 at Huron Park behind the downtown KCK library (Bring a chair)
Easter Breakfast - 8 am after the sunrise service (Cooked by the men of the church)
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Easter Sunday service - 11 am (No lunch after worship)
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