April 5, 2020 - Palm Sunday

            Isaiah 50:4-9a
            Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
           Philippians 2:5-11
           Matthew 21:1-11

Reflection:
Hands up if you have the feeling that you’re “stuck inside”?
I believe that it can all be just a matter of perspective. Doesn’t it sound more positive to say that you’re “safe inside”?

Many of us are at a stage in life where our immune systems aren’t functioning as well as they did when we were younger. That makes us more vulnerable to having a severe reaction if we are exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, we need to stay away from places where we might come into contact with people who are infected with it.

But take heart, the end of our enforced isolation is in sight – we just need very good vision to be able to see it. It’s a bit like the times when people are wishing and waiting for the Lord to re-appear. We know it’s coming - he told us he would do so - but we don’t know when.

Does it help to worry about it? Not really.

Will it happen any sooner if we worry about it? Definitely not.

So, let’s be content with everything the good Lord provides for us and constantly give him thanks.

In our Lenten journey towards the Cross of Easter, we’re at the point of the triumphal entry of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem. It’s the day we call Palm Sunday, because the people were waiving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
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Matthew 21:1-11 tells us the story of how Jesus came humbly into the holy city, riding on the back of a young donkey – not at all like the Messiah the people were looking for.

To quote my nephew (Rev. Andrew Johnson) in the current Insights magazine:

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week is packed with symbolism. Despite having made the coming confrontation and death explicit to the disciples (and to us readers), the key question here is still, ‘who do you say that Jesus is?’
Is he another prophet, a political agitator seeking power, a healer, or something more?
He seems to deliberately play with symbols of power and prestige, mixing them with signs of being an outsider.
As a consequence of these colliding symbols, the whole city is in turmoil, uncertain of what to do with this man.
What do you expect from Jesus during Easter?
Will this week produce praise, or habit, or turmoil, in you?

Andrew asks some interesting questions of us and it’s fortuitous that we have more time on our hands now, to be able to give them due consideration. That’s a positive.
As I’ve always believed that there are two sides to every situation, let’s try looking at the benefits of our time of physical isolation and not just the negatives.

Finally, I paraphrase what a wise friend of mine said recently: “Let us pray that when the dust settles, we realise how much we actually have, how little we really need, and that the human connection, through community, is the most important of all.”

Join me now in a silent prayer for those who are struggling at this time, needing a hug, but who are unable to receive it from us.               

Pastor Rick