Monday, April 6, 2009

Lenten Devotional 4-6-09

www.HopeandHelpCenter.org

Monday, April 6th
John 12:9-19

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,' Hosanna'! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord- the King of Israel!' Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: 'Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!' His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.* It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, 'You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!'

Isn't typical of human nature to want to "see" something? When an accident happens on the highway or street we often experience the slow down because we want to "see" what happened. The people of Jesus' day were no different than we are today. By now everyone had heard of the miracle performed of raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus and Jesus are at dinner in Bethany. In your imagination, can you picture the evening news anchors all converging at dinner to interview Lazarus? Asking him to recount the story of how he had been raised; drilling him with question after question? We are not told that any of that happened in this story but we all know how people are; inquiring minds want to know. We are also told that many of the Jews now believe in Jesus. The chief priests have also heard what has happened and have planned to put Jesus to death, as well as Lazarus.

Why is it that when we don't understand something or when someone is different than the "norm" we have to extinguish it? We can maybe understand that the religious leaders are trying to protect 'their way" of doing things; keeping the law and minding the status quo of all the rules and regulations of their teaching, holding it very sacred and dear because that's the way they've always done things and it has always worked, until now. Jesus brought to their attention on many occasions that people ought to be healed regardless if it's on the Sabbath day or not. It's actually important to do some work and help your neighbor, even if it may go against the rules and regulations, because people are more important than the rules themselves which were set up to protect people in the first place!

How do we as a body of Christ react differently than the "religious leaders" of Jesus' day? Can we be open to new experiences or situations that might be different than the way we've always done it? How can we learn to embrace change with an open mind and heart? The scriptures in the Old Testament had already prophesied the outcome of Jesus' fate long before he came on the scene. Since we have the scriptures as a guide and instruction tool let us learn from the mistakes and victories of others and live our lives open to new possibilities and experiences in Christ Jesus our Lord. gmc

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