Bible
Study: Isaiah 50, 4 to 7. Philippians 2, 6 to 11 and Luke 22, 14 to 23, 56.
Today is
Palm Sunday. Today marks the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city of
Jerusalem. Definitely this was not the first time, Jesus would enter this great
city. For more than thirty years of his earthly life, Jesus had come into and
gone out of Jerusalem countless times without any fan fair, almost unnoticed.
But today’s entry happens to be a special one. An entry that pulled such a
large crowd, shaking the very foundations of Jerusalem.
The crowd
that followed Jesus spreading palm fronds on the floor as well as their clothes
while changing: “Hosanna to the Son of David” at the top of their voices
represents the Church and Christianity today. It represents the body of those
who proudly profess the faith today. It represents the church in its most
glorious state, the church free from the shackles of persecution, the church as
an agent of social cohesion.
Amongst the
crowd, you find four categories of people: The Praise Singers, the Spectators
who just watch, the Emotional Followers who simply do what they see others
doing and the Genuine Disciples who happen to be the fewest of the crowd. So
the question is: “What kind of a Christian am I?”
Am I a
praise singer? Do I join in the procession because of what I hope to get at the
end of the day? Do I really love Jesus or am I shouting Hosannas so that he
would take notice of me and grant me some favours? A lot of us Christians today
fall into this category. We sing praises with our lips while our actions betray
and crucify Jesus. We sing songs of praise without even thinking of the meaning
of what we are singing, we sing like politicians, we just praise and cheer at
the spur of the moment yet as the saying goes, a politician has no friend. When
our true commitment is tested, we simply decamp!
Am I a Spectator?
In Pidgin, am I a “Siddon-look”? Do I just come out of my door or look through
my window to watch? Is Christianity some sort of entertainment for me? Do I come
to church just to listen to others sing while I fold my hands and look? Do my
actions show that I really belong to Jesus? There are some of Christians who
are just spectators, we are neither here nor there. We actually move from
church to church based on the massiveness of the crowd we see. As true
spectators, the game never follows us home. We actually go back home leaving
behind everything we learn in church. We are only Christians within that space
of time we spend in church, the moment we get home, we return to our sinful
animal nature. There were spectators who never spread clothes or palm branches
but just watched the procession of Jesus and gossiped about it all day long. They
did not even know who Jesus was or why he was riding on a colt. There are many
today who have heard so much about Jesus but are yet to encounter him in their
lives. There are some of us today for whom the word Jesus is just an
exclamation word we utter when something surprises us.
Am I an
emotional follower? Put in Pidgin: “Na follow-follow I be?” Amongst the crowd
were people who ran to cut palm branches for no reason other than the fact that
they saw others do so. This group represents a bulk of us Christians who do not
even know why we are Christians. We live entirely to please people. We do
things just to get a sense of affirmation and even praise from others. Some of
us Christians do not know who Jesus really is and we do not care to know; we
never read the bible. All that matters is that people see us going to church. We
are more concerned about the dress we are wearing to church than the state of our
heart before God. We love to move around in church unnecessarily so that others
would notice our presence and even without examination of conscience, we jump
out to receive Holy Communion. When we are church, we follow very well, but
when we step out of the church, we also follow very well. We love to blend
perfectly like chameleons. When it comes to sin, we jump in graciously as we
see others do and basically we believe Christianity is all about giving
impressions. Amongst the crowd were some who shout the loudest Hosannas, not
for Jesus to hear but for people around to hear. They were just followers!
Finally,
am I a disciple? Who is a disciple, you may ask? It is a person who not only
moves along the road with Jesus but actually stays with Jesus. To stay with
Jesus is to live a life conscious of his presence at all times in all places. The
disciples did not need to shout, they must have probably followed quietly even
surprised at the public display of affection for Jesus. It was not yet their time
to shout Hosanna. They would do so after his resurrection when they would have
to go from house to house preaching Jesus from the top of their voices. They would
shout their own Hosanna when they would gather in Antioch to live a life of
total sharing, love and commitment to one another, way of life that so much
reflected the personality of Jesus that then merited the name “Christians”
which they were called.
If your
lifestyle does not proclaim Jesus, then your singing and shouting of “Hosanna”
today is useless.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, may my very life become the palm branch which I throw on the floor for
you to pass. Come through me, Jesus to save the world. Amen.
God bless
you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy
Sunday.
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