by Tama Eller
Jesus’
Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
“When they had come near Jerusalem
and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will
find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If
anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will
send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through
the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble,
and mounted on a donkey,
and
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus
had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks
on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the
road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The
crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’”
Matthew
21:1-9 NRSV
This
story is one of my favorites! It is sweet because Jesus is heralded with
branches and people’s
coats on the ground, that he has a parade given, a welcome and blessing.
Lately,
God is working on me to be positive--stop complaining and recounting all the environmental
sins--and think on God’s deeds in earth care. This discipline is coming along.
It has been tough as our community is undergoing a lot of people growth,
widening roads and building.
Early
one morning, I was looking outside and could hear silence and then birds and
then abruptly, saws. The forests are coming down all around our home, old
trees, saplings, shrubs, etc. It is despairing. On that morning, God showed me
Psalm 83. Verse 12 speaks about our enemies “who said, ‘Let us take the
pastures of God for our own possession.” The psalmist ends with, “Let them know
that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over
all the earth.” I am encouraged in this praise, as too often I forget who our
God is. The next day, God continued in Psalm 84. Verses 6-7 explain how as the
people of God go through the valley, they make it a place of springs; “They go
from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.” To keep going
as stewards of God’s creation, we must read about, listen to, tell one another,
and visit God’s wonderful deeds, not the stark results of the enemy. We must be
busy spring-making and singing.
Jesus
was praised with “Hosanna!”, which is an expression of joy and hope for
salvation through the Messiah. Jesus teaches us through his entry into
Jerusalem, to rejoice and cry out to God to be O Most High for us.
Prayer
using Psalm 9:1-2 A Psalm of David
I will give thanks
to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all
your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and
exult in you;
I will sing praise
to your name, O Most High.
We pray in the
name of the One who came for us. Amen.
One
aside, at some point years ago I started drawing a little “praise doodle” in my
bible study and prayer notes. It’s a little swirl on a post that is an ink palm
of sorts. There is also a beautiful plant here as I write that is bobbing with
the typing as if to say, “Thank you, Jesus, for being here for our Lenten
devotional and season!”
Tama Eller is a free-lance
educator focusing in the stewardship of Godʼs creation. She studied at the University
of South Carolina, majoring in political science and minoring in science; and
Union-PSCE and Columbia Theological Seminary, focusing in educational ministry
and earth care. Tama is enjoying serving on the Steering Committee for
Presbyterians for Earth Care.
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