Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Saturday of Oculi (Lent III)
Saturday of Oculi (Lent III)
Daily Lectionary Readings: Genesis 41:1-27; Mark 11:1-19; (Sirach 19))
Mark 11:1–19 [7] And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. [8] And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. [9] And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! [10] Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
The believers at the gates of Jerusalem wave palm branches as they precede Jesus, laying the palms at the feet of the colt as it walks. Waving the palms and laying the branches on the path was a recognition of a military leader or a religious authority which dates back to the period between the Old and New Testaments near the time of the celebration of the first Hanukkah1. Openly, the people recognize Jesus as the Messiah promised of old by the prophets. They shout, "Hosanna (save us, we pray) Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" But which Messiah is He? Is He the insurrectionist come to drive out the oppressive Romans? Is He the religious guru coming to unify the divisions among the leaders in the synagogues? Or is He the One to bring God's people back to Him? Either way, the Lion of the tribe of Judah is undoubtedly a unique King. Which King did they seek?
Which King do we seek today? Are we looking for a solution to all the problems in our lives? Or are we seeking the answer to what happens after this life? Shouldn't we be asking ourselves why we are the ones doing the searching? We should be asking, "What did I seek to make my god this week?" What was your king? Where did you seek the highest good? Was it God or yourself? Was this a good week, and did that false sense of security delude you into thinking you were in control? Did it ever cause you to doubt that God loves you when tragedy struck? Does our faith ever waver in a time of weakness? How often do we shake our heads at the horrors on the news? How can God let such things happen?
When all is well, we take all the credit, but we seek someone else to blame when times get tough. We even blame God! We fail to submit ourselves to God’s authority. We forget to say thank you. We forget to ask for help. We try to rely on ourselves and wind up puffing up in self-righteous pride or feeling put out when we don’t get what we want. We’re searching, in the dark, wearing a blindfold, with our eyes closed. Do we realize just how serious our sins are? Do we always believe that God can even forgive worms like us? Look to Jesus’ meekness and obedience today for your example. Jesus always gave thanks for the good gifts of God. Jesus always sought His Father’s counsel. And Jesus always trusted in His Father's will and submitted Himself to do what was necessary.
We do not seek after Jesus. He seeks you! You do not find Him. He finds you! Everything that you have in faith comes from Jesus, not from you. Where Jesus doesn't come leaves you on the outside; and on the outside, there is no God, no grace - only sin and death.
But Jesus comes in the name of the Lord, for you. He comes to make you holy because He is holy. The grace and mercy of God are poured out on you through Christ. Your King is coming for you. He may not look like a lion, but know this: He is a lion in lamb's clothing! He is a lamb being led to slaughter to bind you to Himself forever. The battle will be bloody. The battlefield is on a small hill not far from here and just a few days from now. We'd much rather stay here at the parade than the dark road to Calvary. We'd much rather revel in earthly things, but Jesus came to deliver us heavenly things. He will not be crowned with gold and jewels but with sweat and dirt, blood and thorns.
In His suffering and death, His blood was poured out for you. Sin, death, and the devil's power are conquered for you not by a five-star general with all his forces marshaled at his side but in a humiliating, painful, shameful death. Your King is robed no longer in purple but stripped and covered in blood. That very same blood is given for you today. Washed in it, Jesus your King binds you to Him and gives you everything that is His. Paul encourages us to remember that though Jesus is God, he did not count on the privilege and honor that status afforded Him, but rather He obediently humbled Himself by becoming a man and living the life of a suffering servant.2 Everything Jesus ever did was in service to others. Everything.
Watch as He empties Himself to become nothing. Watch as He walks this short week through the show trials, the beatings, the spit, and the shame. Watch as His disciples abandon Him. Watch Him drag the cross up the hill to His fate. See how your King bleeds. Watch as God Himself walks to His death.
Watch as God draws us close to Him because our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.3 Watch as He speaks words of peace to you today. To those who feel imprisoned in their lives, He gives freedom. He sets you free with His blood through water and the Holy Spirit.4 Trust in Jesus because He is the One who lowered himself to wash not only your feet but your hearts and your minds to cleanse you and make you His sons and daughters. Even as He sets aside all the glory and honor due Him as the Son of God, He gives you all the benefits and honor that are rightfully His5. He gives you the power to be a child of God. He comes for you today. He comes for you today, a conqueror of all you cannot conquer. He comes to serve you strength, where you are weak. Where you are anxious, and your mind is twisted and tormented – He comes to lead you to still, quiet water. In place of despair, he gives you Paradise. In place of wretchedness, he gives you complete forgiveness.
1This is found in the Apocrypha. Cf. I Maccabees 4:52, 59; 13:51; II Maccabees 1:9, 10:6-7.
2Philippians 2:5-11.
3Hebrews 10:22.
4I John 5:6.
5John 1:12