Our
Lenten journey approaches its closure as we enter Jerusalem. Today Jerusalem
finds herself confronted with a very controversial man. There is something
about Jesus that creates this confusion in the city. He makes people take
sides, and even change sides; from praise to insults, from "Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord," to "Crucify him!" There is
something about Jesus that makes people confront their own deepest selves.
This
week we could ask ourselves some penetrating questions for meditation: How does
it feel to be a disciple of Jesus in Jerusalem; to walk side by side with Jesus
as he is proclaimed liberator? How does it feel as they are laying palms on the
ground in front of you because you are with him? How do we feel being a
confidant of Jesus at the Last Supper? And here's the big one: To identify with
and profess as master, a man arrested, mocked, beaten, and put to death?
There is no right or wrong
answer. A feeling of confidence does not mean one is spiritually healthy.
Remember Peter's confidence, only to deny Jesus that same night. Sometimes
confidence means we haven't taken the issue seriously. Being ambivalent doesn't
necessarily mean being in a bad spiritual space. It could signify the grace of
confronting the cost of discipleship. We may find that our responses to these
questions change daily. But we should stay with it.
Meditation: Stay with Jesus now. Keep this provocative man near to your heart, and give him the space to speak to us about the cost of discipleship.
Meditation: Stay with Jesus now. Keep this provocative man near to your heart, and give him the space to speak to us about the cost of discipleship.
Fr. Phil
