Palm Sunday is a beautiful celebration. This Sunday we celebrate the entrance of our King Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey. Palm Sunday is mentioned in all four Gospels because God wants us to understand the importance of this message. This is the beginning of Holy Week, otherwise known as Passion Sunday. The Latin word passion is “pati” meaning to suffer.
Right before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus he heals a blind man. To understand this passage is to understand what spiritual blindness is. Without God we are spiritually blind; yes we see but we see is what the world wants us to see. If you see with spiritual eyes you know the difference and truth comes to light. When you have the Lord you no longer have anger for things you have no control of. We pray and know that it is not in our hands but in the hands of God. For years I was spiritually blind and into the things of the world; thinking that as long as I was good person and did no harm to anyone I was fine. Something happened along the way, and just as Paul was struck by a light from heaven (Acts 9), I too saw the light. Not as dramatic as Paul but nonetheless as powerful. My conversion experience is my own, and it has a purpose: to gently reach out to others and tell them what changes it has done for me. My only desire is to serve God, because nothing brings me more pleasure.
What this holy season means to me is hope. I have failed miserably at keeping my Lent promises. I gave up bread and sweets but it has been challenging to keep the commitment. I don’t beat myself up about it, I just jump on the holy wagon the next morning and pray for a better day. God knows all my weaknesses and one day I will have better control.
We leave Monday for Jerusalem and invite you to send your prayer requests. Please pray for us as we pray for you. Look for us on Good Friday, and the media does a pretty decent job of covering our Passion as we reenact the Stations of the Cross in the Old City of Jerusalem. You cannot fake this news coverage.
My Prayer:
Dear Lord, so many are blinded by the things of the world, that they see things as they are not. I pray for you to remove the scales from their eyes and give them a new vision to see things as You see them. Lord, only You can fix this world and we look to You because You are our only hope. Heavenly Father, we need unity and this can only come with the change of hearts, so we trust in You and call out to You to guide the spiritually blind to the foot of your Cross for Your nail-scarred hands to touch and heal their eyes. Lord, during this Holy Week, Your Passion, we ask You to bring us to all humility, just as You rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Make us all humble as You are humble. Your servants sing “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the Kingdom of Your father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!” (Mark 11:9-10)
