Just thinking; Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11)

Sometimes I wonder about my reaction if I had lived and witnessed the ministry of Jesus on earth.  To be honest, I do get scared sometimes.  I am not sure I would have reacted positively and accepting.  It is very complex to put aside preconceptions and prejudices to then exercise faith "like a little child" (Mark 10:15).

The Gospel writers tell us about Jesus' "Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem".  The prophecy had said: "I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory... The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house" (Haggai 2:7,9).  There is no secret that the temple that Solomon built was magnificent, and the promise to those weeping at the scene full of rubble after coming back from Babylon was that the future of the temple was brighter that its past.

Two thousand years later it's easy to "get it", though the temple was not as beautiful physically as the one built by Solomon, the fact that Jesus, "the desired of all nations", walked, preached forgave, healed, and triumphantly entered, fulfills the promise of a greater glory.  But, what if I lived then, would I have "gotten it"?

It bothers me, to be honest, because we usually romanticize the past and play a touching song in our memory while imagining those scenes.  But what if I had lived then, in the raw of the moment, would I have "gotten it"?  It makes me think.

To know our not to know

A few months ago I was watching a Ted talk about the brain.  The presenter showed live on the screen a brain being scanned and how different parts would light up according to the activity that was being performed.  It was amazing to see a brain in action until the presenter said something that struck me and took me out of the presentation and in to my own thoughts.  He said to the person whose brain was being scanned, "you can control your brain."  Maybe for someone who is very knowledgeable on the topic, this is not a big deal, but it was, and is, for me.  Not in a bad sense, but in the awe sense.  What part of us control the brain?  Isn't the brain the center of control of our being?

There must be a scientific explanation that makes sense, but the fact is that obviously there is more then what we, after all the advancements, have come to discover and comprehend.  Another presenter on the same topic acknowledged that there is not yet a sound explanation on how our conscience works within the hardware of our brain.  Yet, we use our brain without even trying to understand how it works.

Obviously, life is full of mysteries that generate the context in which we live in.  One of them is the constant conflict that we face between what we understand is good, and what we understand is bad.  And beyond that, the pressures we need to resist in order to maintain our professional, ethical, moral or spiritual ground.  Regardless of our religious affiliation or philosophy of life, we agree that stealing is bad, and helping is good.  Where this sense of good and bad comes from?  And not only that, but why they seem to be in constant conflict?, both, with in each of us as well as in the constant social tensions that we experience too very often.

Jesus assured us that this tension exist when he said: "the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it" (Matthew 11:12, NLT).  Yes, it is true. the good news of salvation too many times finds itself within the context of conflict.  History has witness even violence and wars, but the conflict has been seen also in legislative contentions, and social unrest.  Why?  Why are we, as society, so prone to conflict?  Why do we historically react negatively to the offer of God?  In deed, it is a mystery.

To love

It was until I had children that I fully understood the love, caree and dedication of my parents towards me and my siblings.  Of course, before I had children I new they loved me, though I might had doubt it a couple of times, but there were plenty of evidence that their commitment to us was real and for the ling ride.  I remember in my beginnings as a pastor, before marriage and children, giving counsel on the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children.  The importance of love, communication and discipline.  And even though the concepts I shared were not that far from reality, they all were based on a one-sided perspective, on the receiving and, but not on the giving end.

Being on the receiving end we risk over-nurturing our selfishness.  No wonder the amount of ungrateful children in today's world.  We may confuse love with only receiving.  But when we become parents, and are put in the position to give without being rewarded, is when we remember with a hint of shame the many times we received from our parents without even giving the thought of recognizing their efforts.

We can only fully comprehend God's love when we place our selves on the giving end of it.  Matthew shares the mission of Jesus calling him " Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us,’" "for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21,23).  Isn't it wonderful?  But if we left it like that, it would do very little for our cause.  Though having the way paved to eternal life, through Jesus, we wouldn't have the right attitude to receive it, for selfishness would be our motivation.

The culture of heaven is selflessness.  Of God the Bible says: "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Would you highlight the word "gave"?, and later on Jesús describes himself like this: "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13).

We can't comprehend God's love for us if we haven loved like he does, therefore, we can't appreciate God's sacrifice for us, disabling us to fully surrender to him.

We must assimilate the culture of heaven, a culture of love from the giving end, so we can comprehend God's love towards us and then fully, and willing surrender to his love. That's the reason of Jesus invitation: "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).