Sunday's Text
Luke 9:28-45 Transfiguration
Sunday Recap of the week... by Elaine Pierce
Reflections on Luke 19:28 - 22:71
Does it seem a little 'off' to be reading about Palm Sunday the week before Lent begins? The 4 chapters that we have read this week in our Daily Worship are usually ones that we usually read closer to Easter. I hope that you put aside any confusion, any "that's not the way we've always done it" type of attitude, and ask the Holy Spirit to bless you, convict you and encourage you as you read God's word.
I noticed that in these chapters, at least three times, the Jewish leaders were looking for ways to neutralize Jesus' ministry. What stopped them?
19:48: Yet they could not find any way to do it [kill Jesus] because all the people hung on his words.
20:19: They looked for a way to arrest him.....But they were afraid of the people.
22:2: They were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.
Of course, we know that they did find a way to kill him, and next week we will read about his sham trial, his conviction, his excruciatingly painful death, and yes, his glorious resurrection.
The religious leaders had good reason to fear Jesus. His teachings were attracting huge crowds, and the establishment was threatened by him. He chased the moneylenders out of the temple. He called out the hypocrisy of the leaders who wanted to be respected and fawned over, but who weren't willing to be humble servants. He offered hope to the downtrodden. He healed the poor and the outcast, both physically and spiritually.
Today, we're part of the establishment. Upper Arlington Lutheran Church is a respected part of the community. We can worship freely (well, with masks on these days - but hope is on the horizon that will change sooner than later.) No one is looking for ways to sabotage our ministry. But how can we learn from the mistakes of the leaders of Jesus' day? Might we find ourselves complacent, happy to go to church on Sunday (or zoom from our couch) and then to conduct 'business as usual' the rest of the week?
During the Last Supper, as we have come to know the meal Jesus serves his disciples on the night he is betrayed, he tells them that they will suffer much before he comes again, and he warns them to watch and pray :
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. Luke 21:34
What are the 'anxieties of life' you are facing? Take them to Jesus. The leaders of his day were afraid of him, so, rather than follow him, they killed him. We have a choice just like they did. What a joy, what a blessing, what sweet surrender when we choose to follow him.
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