[Friday Follow-up]
You may very well know this joke, and oldie but still a goodie –
- A guy is in dire need of some last-minute Christmas shopping. He gets to the mall and there’s not a parking spot in sight. After a few passes he is desperate and prays, “Lord, open up a spot for me and I’ll do anything – return to Church, go to confession, give up gambling, you name it.” Just then, a spot opens up right before him and as he zips into the space he calls back out to heaven, “Never mind, God – I’ve got it all taken care of.”
Like all good humor, we smile at that joke because it has more than a grain of truth – and especially because we see in it a faint (maybe not so faint!) reflection of ourselves.
This brings us to our reflection on Palm Sunday and Christ’s passion and crucifixion. This Sunday we hear the crowd rejoicing – “Hosanna!” Formally, it’s Hebrew for “save us.” But on the lips of that crowd (let’s say, the “faithful crowd”) it was more like, “Hooray!”
But within a few days another crowd (let’s say the “unfaithful crowd”) would be calling for Christ’s crucifixion. Christ was quite popular when He was doing things for the people – feeding and healing. But once He entered Jerusalem and failed to deliver as a political leader, the mob had no need of Him.
Next week we’ll look at how our own fortunes can quickly seem to change – both in our interior life and exterior life out in the world.
But going into this weekend it is good to remember that, just like our opening joke, many times we’ve been the source of inconsistency with God.
There are plenty of times that I (Steve) prayed fervently to God when I was in dire need of something – I was right there firmly in the “faithful crowd.” And, once the crisis passed, so did the fervor – and I would shift a little closer to the “unfaithful crowd.” And there’s this – Christ says anyone who would be
His disciple must, “pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow Me.” Well, I prefer to pick-and-choose my crosses. Some of them aren’t so bad and I can give God credit for His good judgement (I’m back in the “faithful crowd”). Then there are those other crosses – big and heavy with rough edges – I don’t know what God was thinking when he picked them for me and I find every reason to avoid them – I’m back with the unfaithful mob.
The bottom line is that you are obviously working to grow in holiness (illustrated by being so generous with your time in reading these messages…) – but all of us have some part within us, be it bigger or smaller, that rebels and denies Christ’s call to us. Palm Sunday is a good opportunity to renew our commitment to be steadfast in the “faithful crowd.”
Palm Sunday blessings –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life