Thursday, April 10, 2014

Psalm of Passion

Psalm 31:9-16

Jesus has been hailed as the savior, as the one sent by God to free the oppressed and justly deal with the oppressors. He entered Jerusalem amid shouts of joy and praise, the path made soft and safe for the donkey which carried him.

The Hosannas have quieted, people are beginning to see this Jesus for who he is - at least who they perceive him to be. There are those who now have a deeper understanding of the message he lived; what it is he's been trying to say for the past few years. Then, there are those who see him as a threat to their power; as a prophet, hailed as the Messiah, and whose peaceful ideology could only be dealt in one way - death.

Jesus is anguished by the reality of what is to come. On the one hand he knows what will happen if he takes it too far. After all, his cousin John was put to death for simply opposing King Herod's wife. Imagine what will happen to him if he opposes the Roman Empire.

Jesus goes up a mountain to pray. His heart is torn, his soul is shredded. He's come this far and there really is no turning back. He knows people will deny him. He knows he will be reviled and scorned. He knows that it's probably already too late to turn away and in the hours to come he will be nothing more than a mere memory of just another troublemaker.

Yet, his trust in God never fails.

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