Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. (Mark 11:11)
Monday. It all looked so promising, but now we’ve got our doubts about this Jesus. We were all assembled here in Jerusalem ready to follow him, but he didn’t lead us the way we wanted him to lead us. He didn’t lead us to Herod’s palace where we could kick out Herod, that poser of a king, overthrow the Romans and re-establish God’s kingdom. Instead this Jesus came into the temple, looked around, and left. Now it’s Monday, we’ve stopped waving our palm branches and we’ve gone back to work. Our day of celebration is over and nothing has changed. Herod is still King, the Romans are still in charge, and Jesus and his loyal band of followers are out in a sleepy little one-horse town where nothing ever happens. Bethany—quiet, tranquil, boring Bethany. You don’t raise an army in Bethany. You don’t start an insurrection in Bethany. You don’t overturn an empire from Bethany. That’s not where things happen. What’s going on here, Jesus? Disappointed again. How much disappointment can we handle? More disillusionment. More broken dreams. Why dream when dreams don’t come true? Maybe we’re missing something. Maybe there are some missing puzzle pieces, and the whole puzzle would make sense if only we could find those missing pieces. Maybe there is still a flicker of hope that some good can come out of this. After all, our history has shown us that God doesn’t do things according to our script. David defeated Goliath, not by tackling him down and beating him to a bloody pulp, but by using a slingshot and a smooth stone. Jericho came down, not through a battle but by marching around in circles and blowing trumpets. Sampson’s strength was in his hair. Our ancestors were delivered from Egyptian slavery by the shedding of the blood of lambs. Our God does whatever He wishes; He is not obligated to follow our script. If we wrote the script and God followed it, then we would be God. That’s not the way things work. We should have known better. Great God of our Fathers, when we cannot understand what you are doing, help us to trust in your character. Help us to believe that you are wise enough to know what is right, compassionate enough to want what is right, and powerful enough to do what is right. When we cannot see what you are doing, help us to trust you in the darkness. Help us to trust that your heart is good, that your heart is toward your people and that your ear is toward their cries. You’ve helped our people in the past. Help us again, now. We need your help. We need your hope. Help us to remember. Help us to believe. Help us to trust. Perhaps some good can come out the gentle rabbi and his odd disciples, asleep tonight in Bethany while the rest of the world is sleepless and restless. You did not forsake us on that Passover night so many centuries ago. Forsake us not tonight.
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