Palm Sunday Reflections

It was not the traditional Palm Sunday in my world.  Although I attended church, there were no Palm branches waved by children as they paraded down the center aisle.  It is the memory I carried with me from my childhood into the years my own children were the ones carrying the branches.  I even recall having our grandchildren participating in the event at times.

Still, I take time at the end of the day to look back on the original Palm Sunday as recorded in God's Word:

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival

heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.  

They took Palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel!"

-John 12:12-13 NIV

It must have been an exciting time for everyone. . .except, perhaps, for the one riding on the donkey.  He knew what was coming later in the week when the "Hosanna!" would turn to "Crucify Him!"

Somehow, seeing these events in retrospect gives me hope.  It speaks to me of the fact there will be times in our lives filled with excitement and celebration, followed by other days of uncertainty, pain and suffering.  

Ultimately we can find comfort in knowing the cycle of events will always end with the words of the angel saying, "He is not here!  He is Risen!" proving Jesus will reign victorious over any attempt of the enemy to defeat us.   

If I had a palm branch, I just might be tempted to wave it and shout out a "Hosanna!" or two!

The Prayer of Daniel

The table prayers of my grandchildren started out pretty simple, as yours likely did, too.  "Thank You, Jesus, for this food.  Amen."  This was the basic pattern until the granddaughter decided to add her own twist to the prayer adding the phrase, ". . .and bless it to our bodies."  It became the "go to" prayer for all four grandchildren until Daniel, the youngest, added an interesting ending.  After the "Amen" he threw in a "Hut! Hut!"

No one knew what prompted him to say it, [was it football season??] and naturally everyone at the table burst into laughter!  Being the "entertainer" personality of the family, the laughter was the applause he needed to continue adding "Hut! Hut! to all of his future prayers.  It still makes me smile every time I hear it!

In a way, the phrase added to his prayers makes sense when you look at it from a football analogy.  Typically, "Hut! Hut!" is a phrase used by the quarterback to bring his team members to attention and signals the start of their play.  It is a short and sharp command similar to the "Atten-HUT" used by the military and signals to the players it is time to battle it out on the field.

Translate this to Daniel's prayers and we see him handing things off to God, allowing Him to direct the future events tied to the prayer.  This is probably something many of us forget to do at the end of our prayers!

Today my dear friend Alice directed me to read the prayer of another Daniel, one who lived in Bible times.  You can find the prayer recorded in the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verses 4-19.  In this prayer, Daniel is pleading for the Israelite people who are in captivity in Babylon.  His is a prayer of repentance followed by a cry for mercy.

Alice encouraged me to pray this prayer of Daniel, inserting the names of our current leaders, states, counties and cities.  When I did so, I was challenged, humbled and made very aware of the fact we face difficulties as a nation because of unrepentant hearts.  Worse yet, it uncovered the fact we are in the shape we are because we have not given attention to God's truths (see verses 11 and 13 of Daniel's prayer).  Without God's Word as our absolute "true north" everyone ends up doing whatever they feel is right in their own eyes, leading to a chaotic and jumbled atmosphere in which to live.

Take time to read Daniel's prayer from the Bible and use it as a model to pray for our nation.  Make it not only a corporate prayer, but also a personal one as you ask God to point out in your own life areas which do not align with His Word.  Here is a link to the passage in Bible Gateway's online Bible:  Daniel 9 - Bible Gateway  Although I prefer to read from my Bible which is actually a book I can hold, the beauty of reading from Bible Gateway online is you can easily change to a variety of translations, giving you a broader perspective of the passage.

Your assignment for the day?  Go ahead and pray the prayer of the Old Testament Daniel, and while you're at it, add a resounding "Hut! Hut!" at the end, leaving the outcome in God's hands!  This Daniel will be ever so pleased you've chosen to follow his example:

     

 

Sun Going Down

It was good to be home in Crosby over the weekend.  We were blessed with great weather allowing me the opportunity to take an evening stroll.  The beauty of the sunset around two iconic landmarks, (the Courthouse and water tower) led me to snap this picture:

It also brought to mind the lyrics to a song, one I discovered was made popular by Elton John in 1974, the year I graduated from high school.

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SUN GOING DOWN ON ME

I can't light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met you
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light

Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I searched myself, it's always someone else I see
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

I can't find the right romantic line
But see me once and see the way I feel
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm

But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal.

Don't let the sun go down on me

Although I searched myself, it's always someone else I see

I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free

But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

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As I listened once again to the song, I couldn't help but think of a classmate whose life ended tragically last week.  Although it seems the "sun went down" in his life, my faith assures me a sunset from our perspective only leads to a sunrise somewhere else.  

"Rest in peace, Larry, and allow the love of Jesus to be the healing balm you need!"