Monday - Read today:
Which King Will You Choose?
Pages 145-147 - The Way
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)
“On the next day a
great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him,
and cried out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the
King of Israel!’ Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is
written, ‘Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting
on a donkey’s colt.’”(John 12:12-15)
great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him,
and cried out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the
King of Israel!’ Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is
written, ‘Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting
on a donkey’s colt.’”(John 12:12-15)
Last election season, I
received political phone calls in thirty minutes, hoping to persuade me to vote
this way or that. Signs were in the yards of my neighbors. The airwaves were
filled with commercials for each of the candidates. The presidential candidates
and their supporters spent over two billion dollars trying to get elected. In
the end, each voter had to make a choice as to which candidate should be
leading our country going forward.
received political phone calls in thirty minutes, hoping to persuade me to vote
this way or that. Signs were in the yards of my neighbors. The airwaves were
filled with commercials for each of the candidates. The presidential candidates
and their supporters spent over two billion dollars trying to get elected. In
the end, each voter had to make a choice as to which candidate should be
leading our country going forward.
On the first Palm
Sunday, those in Jerusalem were offered a choice as well. Three “candidates”
marched into Jerusalem that week, perhaps on the same day: There was Pilate,
accompanied by centurions riding on their magnificent steeds, planning to keep
the peace by intimidation, planning to crucify a handful of Jews who dared
rebel against Rome’s authority. There was Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, who
had taken his brother’s wife as his own—an incident that shortly thereafter led
to Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist for speaking against their act.
Sunday, those in Jerusalem were offered a choice as well. Three “candidates”
marched into Jerusalem that week, perhaps on the same day: There was Pilate,
accompanied by centurions riding on their magnificent steeds, planning to keep
the peace by intimidation, planning to crucify a handful of Jews who dared
rebel against Rome’s authority. There was Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, who
had taken his brother’s wife as his own—an incident that shortly thereafter led
to Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist for speaking against their act.
There was also a third
candidate. He entered Jerusalem not on a stallion, but a donkey. He came not
adorned in gold and silver and silks, but in the clothes of a carpenter. His
followers were a raging band of misfits, tax collectors, prostitutes, common
folk, and children who hailed him as a king on that Sunday as he entered
Jerusalem. He spoke of loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute
you, and turning the other cheek when mistreated.
candidate. He entered Jerusalem not on a stallion, but a donkey. He came not
adorned in gold and silver and silks, but in the clothes of a carpenter. His
followers were a raging band of misfits, tax collectors, prostitutes, common
folk, and children who hailed him as a king on that Sunday as he entered
Jerusalem. He spoke of loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute
you, and turning the other cheek when mistreated.
Which person would you
have chosen among these three? The powerful and wealthy who ruled by might? Or
the peasant king who called his followers to conquer by the power of sacrificial
love? As I awaken each morning, I always take a moment in prayer to hail Jesus
once again as Savior and King.
have chosen among these three? The powerful and wealthy who ruled by might? Or
the peasant king who called his followers to conquer by the power of sacrificial
love? As I awaken each morning, I always take a moment in prayer to hail Jesus
once again as Savior and King.
Lord, help me to choose you each day and to follow
in the path you’ve laid out of me. You are my King and my Lord. Teach me to
demonstrate kindness in the face of unkindness and to overcome evil by the
power of love. Amen.
in the path you’ve laid out of me. You are my King and my Lord. Teach me to
demonstrate kindness in the face of unkindness and to overcome evil by the
power of love. Amen.
Read today:
Pages 171-174 - The Way
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)
The Gardener
“But Mary was standing
outside at the tomb weeping. So, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the
tomb,
outside at the tomb weeping. So, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the
tomb,
When she had said this,
she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus. Jesus
said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ She,
supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to
her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him, ‘Rabboni!’ which is to say, ‘Teacher!’”(John
20:11,14-16)
she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus. Jesus
said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ She,
supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to
her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him, ‘Rabboni!’ which is to say, ‘Teacher!’”(John
20:11,14-16)
John’s Easter story is
moving and profound. In his gospel, he intends to do more than tell us what
happened. His stories and their details are meant to show us what the story
means.
moving and profound. In his gospel, he intends to do more than tell us what
happened. His stories and their details are meant to show us what the story
means.
Mary stood weeping
outside the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. Jesus’ body was not there.
She did not yet understand. To her grief had been added the painful thought that
someone had taken Jesus’ body from the tomb to further humiliate him!
outside the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. Jesus’ body was not there.
She did not yet understand. To her grief had been added the painful thought that
someone had taken Jesus’ body from the tomb to further humiliate him!
Composer C. Austin
Miles penned his well-loved hymn “In the Garden” after reading John’s account
of the Resurrection. It is sung in Mary’s voice: “I come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses.” Suddenly Jesus appears next to Mary, but
she doesn’t recognize him. Since the tomb was located in the garden, Mary
thought at first that Jesus was the gardener.
Miles penned his well-loved hymn “In the Garden” after reading John’s account
of the Resurrection. It is sung in Mary’s voice: “I come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses.” Suddenly Jesus appears next to Mary, but
she doesn’t recognize him. Since the tomb was located in the garden, Mary
thought at first that Jesus was the gardener.
This mention of the
garden, with Jesus seeming to be the gardener, only appears in John’s gospel.
John wants the reader to connect the dots between this garden and the Garden of
Eden. Remember, John begins his gospel pointing back to the Garden of Eden by
echoing the opening words of Genesis: “In the beginning…” (John 1:1). John
wants us to see what happened in Eden—the loss of paradise—was being reversed
in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Genesis, God had said, “In the day you eat
of the forbidden fruit you will die.” The archetypal story of Adam and Eve in
the first garden point to the pain and death that come when we turn from God’s
way! But in this garden—where Jesus is crucified, is buried, and then emerges
from the tomb—he takes away the sting of our sin, and he conquers human
mortality.
garden, with Jesus seeming to be the gardener, only appears in John’s gospel.
John wants the reader to connect the dots between this garden and the Garden of
Eden. Remember, John begins his gospel pointing back to the Garden of Eden by
echoing the opening words of Genesis: “In the beginning…” (John 1:1). John
wants us to see what happened in Eden—the loss of paradise—was being reversed
in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Genesis, God had said, “In the day you eat
of the forbidden fruit you will die.” The archetypal story of Adam and Eve in
the first garden point to the pain and death that come when we turn from God’s
way! But in this garden—where Jesus is crucified, is buried, and then emerges
from the tomb—he takes away the sting of our sin, and he conquers human
mortality.
When I wrote the
companion book to this devotional, I described a woman named Joyce and her
cancer diagnosis. In the month between the writing of that book and this one,
Joyce died. A day or so before her passing, I stood by her bedside at the
Hospice House. Her family was there. One of our worship leaders sang some of
her favorite songs. Joyce faced her death with confidence and hope, and she
instilled these in her husband, children, and grandchildren. She found her hope
in the story of Christ’s resurrection. And with C. Austin Miles she would sing,
“And He walks with me, and He talks with me,/And He tells me I am His own;/And
the joy we share as we tarry there,/None other has ever know.”[C. Austin
Miles, “In the Garden,” The United
Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, the United Methodist Publishing House, 1989),
314]
companion book to this devotional, I described a woman named Joyce and her
cancer diagnosis. In the month between the writing of that book and this one,
Joyce died. A day or so before her passing, I stood by her bedside at the
Hospice House. Her family was there. One of our worship leaders sang some of
her favorite songs. Joyce faced her death with confidence and hope, and she
instilled these in her husband, children, and grandchildren. She found her hope
in the story of Christ’s resurrection. And with C. Austin Miles she would sing,
“And He walks with me, and He talks with me,/And He tells me I am His own;/And
the joy we share as we tarry there,/None other has ever know.”[C. Austin
Miles, “In the Garden,” The United
Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, the United Methodist Publishing House, 1989),
314]
Lord, help me to trust in the hope of Easter—that you
live and walk with me, and that you have conquered death. I believe that
because you live, I shall live also. I entrust my life to you. Amen.
live and walk with me, and that you have conquered death. I believe that
because you live, I shall live also. I entrust my life to you. Amen.
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