​Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are mothers.
Even if you’re not one, we’ve all had one, and on this day, we give thanks to God for everything they’ve done for us.
 
In Psalm 23, we read that “the Lord is my shepherd” and this conjures up some great feelings of safety and security.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells those assembled in front of him that only his sheep can hear his voice.
And in Revelation, we’re told that “the lamb will be at the centre of the throne and will be their shepherd.”
So, we can see that shepherds are very important people in the Kingdom of God – a bit like mothers are!
 
But if you’ve ever been on a sheep station then you’ll probably agree that sheep are not very clever creatures!
You’ll notice that they all tend to follow each other, often in single file and jump for no apparent reason.
 
As citizens of the twenty first century, we don’t take kindly to being likened to sheep.
Granted, in earlier generations, Australia was said to have economically ridden on the sheep’s back, but that’s about where our respect for these animals ends.
Yes, the wool cheque is welcome - but not so the preacher who makes a comparison between us and these woolly imbeciles.
Therefore, I won’t be the one making the comparison; I’ll leave it up to you.
 
But actually, if you’ve ever had a pet lamb, or petted them at the Royal Easter Show, you’ll know how easy it is to become quite attached to them; and I’m sure that’s how it was for the shepherds in the time of Jesus.
They lived with their flock, day in and day out, knew them individually and when even one sheep strayed, they would risk their lives to save them. 
Therefore, it was a natural thing for Jesus to relate us to a flock of sheep, which he had gathered together, and to this flock, looking small and vulnerable among the powerful “wolves and bears” of the Roman Empire, Jesus made this promise when he said:
“I give them [that is, my sheep] eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
 
What does this concept “eternal life” mean to you? 
Sadly, some people get the idea that all it means is living forever, staying just as we are.
But let me say, if that’s all it means, I’m out of here.
I don’t want to feel trapped in the limitations of this earthly life - life as I now have it - forever.
The God of Jesus offers us something infinitely better.
Eternal life to him means the fullest possible life, life of the limitless new age, that which humanity has dreamed of.
An awesome life, unlimited life; unbounded in every way, without walls and barriers - nothing to stop us. 
It has new horizons, new depths, new heights, new joys and love beyond anything we thought possible.
 
I feel like I get close to defining it when I say: “Wow!” - eternal life is a “wow” life, with an exclamation mark!  
Not life with a comma, or a tired old semi-colon; not life with a question mark, or life within parentheses.
Certainly not life with a full stop. 
 
The timeless dimension, immortality, is just one of the many facets of eternal life.
To be liberated from this time and space, is merely one of the wonders of its amazing abundance.
Of course, this is important and I’m not trying to minimise this part of it. 
For example, when I see a child wither and die from say, leukaemia, I find profound comfort and encouragement that their life-force, their soul, isn’t terminated along with their physical body, because they have an eternal life with God.
 
Please don’t limit your vision of eternal life to this one element, as it’s only one of the kaleidoscope of opportunities.
 
Eternal life is gloriously expansive, opportunity beyond measure, a level of bliss and growth that no number of earthly words could possibly describe.
It’s the opportunity to be with the Lord forever - and who could want for anything more than that?
 
The next important thing I want to try and express to you is that this “wow life” is life that it begins right now. 
Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, we read that the disciples had already commenced eternal life.
Trusting in Jesus and his God is the way to begin that new life now. 
As Paul says: “If anyone is in Christ, there is new creation, old things have passed away, all things have become new.”
 
Caught as we are in the limitations of the here and now, eternal life is only a foretaste - but it is also the real thing. Our bodies and minds limit us, the social and political structures of the world limit us.
But in Christ Jesus, we begin to explore the unlimited dimension - that for which we were created and redeemed.  We begin to experience the awesomeness of: “Wow!”
 
When I look back upon my own little life, scratchy and patchy though it still is; when I remember how my faith grew and my experiences altered from the moment I decide to follow Jesus, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.
It didn’t happen all at once, as the growth can be incremental.
Often, I’ve been impatient – sometimes, I’ve lost the plot, but through the greatness of God, it is happening! 
 
So, I hope I’ve convinced you that eternal life is with us right now.
It’s as if, with Christ at our side, we’re surfing the wave of eternity - right here in our current time.
All around us are the many limitations of time; but on that wave, with Christ beside us, we’re riding along on the crest of the unlimited; the wave of eternal life.
 
And the most significant joy of eternal life is love.
It’s no surprise that John’s Gospel, which is the one that favours the words “eternal life”, is also the one that most forcefully speaks of the importance of love.
Any man or woman who thinks they are just surfing the wave to eternal life, but who aren’t caught up in a greater love – both divine and human – are just fooling themselves. 
Love is the only valid test - love of God, love of each other and love of ourselves.
 
Love is a far more important ingredient of eternal life than is the fact of surviving death - for without love, just surviving death would be pointless.
 
Christ assures us that none of his flock will perish.  
Here, once again, we encounter that strong word: “perish”. 
Flowers wilt and perish, fruits perish, blue Ulysses butterflies perish, leaping red kangaroos perish, our personalities can be corrupted and perish, our bodies will perish, but not the soul-being of those to whom Christ has already transferred to eternal life.  The flock of Christ won’t perish.
 
What matters to us, especially in times of crisis, is not our grasp on the Lord, but his grasp on us.
 
It’s by his grace that we’ll make it, not by our own skill or cleverness.
When we think we can go it alone, then we’re surely in trouble.
But with Christ, we can make it through, knowing that his is the stronger grasp.
That’s a part of the “Wow!” I’ve been talking about.
 
Are you ready to give up trying to do it all by yourself and to surrender to the love of the shepherd?
God is faithful and will never let us down or abandon us.
 
So, if you haven’t already done so, give yourself over to him and join the eternal flock.
Open yourself to him in prayer and surrender to his eternal, wow, life.
I know that you’ll find it to be the best decision you’ll ever make.
Take a moment now, in prayer, to talk to God and ask him to be your life force, now and into the future.
 
Pastor Rick

​In the final movie of the trilogy “Lord of the Rings”, film director Peter Jackson almost seems unsure of what he wants the ending to be.
It seems like he couldn’t decide how this great work by the novelist J.R.R. Tolkien should conclude.
Maybe, in the back of his mind was the thought “Can I make a sequel after this and make even more money?” 
 
The writer of the gospel of John also seems to have been a bit undecided about where to end his work.
Chapter 20 appears to be the logical conclusion, with Jesus doing many other miraculous signs, “which are not recorded in this book”, but then John adds an epilogue which takes us back to where it all began – fishing on the Sea of Tiberias, which is the name used in many Roman texts (we know it better as the Sea of Galilee).
 
Although this story appears to be a bit of an afterthought, it does add to the overall picture of life after the resurrection and it may have been added later by John, or by another writer.
 
We should note that this story is not repeated in any of the other Gospels.
 
Ok, so after the tumultuous entry into Jerusalem of Palm Sunday, the shocking crucifixion on Good Friday and the miraculous resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, Peter and some of the other disciples had gone back to doing what they knew best – fishing – and, early one morning, a man appears on the shore and asks them if they’ve caught anything.
 
Well, they hadn’t had any luck that night, so, when the man tells them to throw their nets onto the other side of the boat and assures them that they’ll catch some fish over there, well, they were doubtful.
But, when they did – my goodness - they could hardly pull the nets in, because there were so many fish in them.
 
It was only then that John recognised Jesus and said to Peter “It is the Lord!”
 
This was the third time that Jesus had appeared to Peter and the disciples.
That number (3), may have been significant in that Peter had denied knowing his Lord 3 times on the night of the trial of Jesus.
It is also consistent with the number of times that Jesus then asks Peter if he (Peter) loves him (Jesus).
 
When Peter assures Jesus that he does, Jesus gives to Peter a call to action.
He says, “Look after, feed and tend my sheep.”
 
Peter did, in fact, go on to demonstrate his love for Christ, becoming the head of the church in Jerusalem and preaching the Gospel widely, as far away as Antioch and even Rome.
He would even be taken somewhere that he didn’t really want to go - to his death on a cross for proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God.
His obedience to the task that Jesus gave him would bring glory to God and help to spread the Christian message throughout the known world.
 
We can see that the events of Easter changed things.
Not only for those left behind when Jesus ascended into heaven, but for us, too.
We’ve been charged with the responsibility of looking after others, feeding and caring for them.
 
There’s no going back once a Christian makes the decision to follow Jesus Christ.
They can only move forward as a response to the call of their risen Lord.
 
When things get difficult in our lives, we, too, find it tempting to go back to safe, familiar surroundings, but Christ calls us to go out, to go forward into unfamiliar territory, onto shaky ground.
We’re called to obedience, to put ourselves, our own security, to the back and to push on in Christ’s name.
We know that Peter wasn’t perfect, before or after this encounter with Jesus, but he was obedient and he moved forward, unafraid of whatever would come.
 
This passage can also be a great text for a prayer. I encourage you to read it in that way and try imagining Jesus asking you “Do you love me?”
Then ask yourself whether you can respond like Peter did.
Listen in silence to hear what God reveals to you.
Determine who is in need of love and help and then form a plan for how you can assist them.
 
It might seem scary at first, but going forward will glorify Christ and we should remember him saying that he will go ahead of us and call us.
 
Our calling might not be exactly what we had imagined.
And it might take us to some strange places.
It’s all part of what I’m terming “mysterious callings”.
 
In a similar way, as we hear from the book of Acts, Saul, also known by his Roman name Paul, was another one who didn’t imagine the future that God had in mind for him.
He was a Jew’s Jew, a Pharisee, well trained in the Jewish religious ways.
 
In a later letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul described himself as having been circumcised as an infant on the eighth day.
He further confirmed this by stating that he was of the people Israel and he went on to cite his descent from the tribe of Benjamin.
 
At the time after the death and resurrection of Jesus, he was persecuting Christians and has even been implicated in the stoning of Stephen.
 
We read in Acts of his miraculous and mysterious encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, where Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting him.
This encounter left Saul blind for 3 days and during that time, he fasted and prayed to God. 
Jesus then sent Ananias and tasked him with the power to restore Saul’s sight.
 
From that time on, Paul proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God and preached far and wide around the Mediterranean, reaching out to both Jews and gentiles, telling them of God’s love for all of them.
He was so convinced of the truth about Jesus, that he endured many hardships, including times in prison and under house arrest, finally dying in Rome around 66AD.
 
Maybe we don’t feel called in the same ways as Peter or Paul were, but I’m sure that God has a plan for all of us and we’re charged with the responsibility to determine just what that is.
We won’t find that plan written down anywhere, but I believe that, in our prayerful conversations with God, he will reveal it to us.
Then, with his help, we can start putting it into action.
 
Remember, Jesus assured us that we wouldn’t be asked to do anything that God hadn’t prepared us for, so we need to trust him and move forward with the support of the Holy Spirit.
 
Do you love the Lord?
Are you prepared to follow him?
Will you help spread the gospel, the good news about Jesus?
 
I pray that you can answer the Lord in the same way as Peter did, by saying “You know that I do and that I will.”
 
Pastor Rick

This year, the commemoration of ANZAC Day falls very close to our celebration of Easter last weekend.
It may seem a little incongruous to talk about “peace” after these two remembrances of rather gruesome events, but we’re going to talk about God’s peace. The concept of God’s peace is not what many of us may think or expect.
 
“Shalom” says Jesus to his disciples when he appears before them on that day, just after his resurrection.
Shalom roughly translates to “Peace be with you.”
Now, peace was probably the last thing the disciples were thinking about at that stage.
After all, they’d just been on a huge roller coaster ride - seeing the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem only a week before, the changing of the traditional Passover Meal into the sacrament of communion, the traitorous actions of Judas Iscariot - one of their own, the arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, his trial and crucifixion, death and burial, the empty tomb and now, his rising from the dead and appearing before them.
 
Surely, they would have been really confused and scared, not knowing where to turn, or what to do.
Therefore, peace was EXACTLY what they did need.
 
To top it off, Jesus tells them that he’s sending them out into the world with something called “the Holy Spirit” to guide and protect them.
All was coming to a fulfilment. Jesus had assured them earlier that he would bring them comfort and joy (John 17:12-13). He would give them an advocate, "the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father" (John 15:26).
And with that Spirit, he would send them into the world to continue the work and spread the message.
Using the words he used when praying to His Father, he said: "that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23).
Now, in their presence, Jesus breathed on them, and they were touched by the Holy Spirit.
 
At this time, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, they were a closed, inward-looking group, but he turned them into an open team of missionaries, sent out into the world.
The disciples were told to go out and forgive people’s sins, just as Jesus had forgiven sins when he was in his 3 years of ministry around Galilee and Jerusalem.
He even laid it on them that if they didn’t forgive the sins of others, then their sins would not be forgiven.
Quite a responsibility for a bunch of simple fishermen, tax collectors and the like. 
Could they do the same work as Jesus had done during his ministry on earth? 
Would it work, or would the people just scoff at them, or worse still, stone them for blasphemy?
Speaking of scoffers, there were, and still are today, those who wouldn’t believe that Jesus had died and risen from the grave after 3 days.
In fact, even one of the 12, Thomas, refuses to believe that Jesus is alive, as he wasn’t in the room when Jesus first appears to the disciples.
The words he uses are: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Not an unreasonable assertion, given the circumstances and one that you and I would probably make too.
Even the disciples seem unable to recognise Jesus the first time he appears before them.
It wasn’t until he showed them his hands and side that they recognise him. Does that make Thomas a “doubter” - or a realist?  He saw Jesus nailed to the cross and he saw him die, so, you really can't blame him for wanting a “real” encounter with a “really risen” Lord, just like the other disciples had been privilege to.
 
When you read through the resurrection accounts of all four gospels, you quickly realise that Thomas is not alone in his doubt. In fact, doubt isn't the exception but the rule.
No one - even after all the predictions - no one says, "Welcome back Jesus", or "We knew you would do it", or even "What took you so long?"
No one anticipates the return of Jesus and when he shows up, everyone doubts.
 
To make sure that he includes all his closest followers, Jesus appears a week later, in the same room, although this time John says that the door is closed, but he doesn’t mention the word “locked”.
Jesus doesn’t chide Thomas as he allows him to put his fingers in the nail holes and his hand in the gash made by the centurion’s spear.
It’s then that Thomas utters those profound words “My Lord and my God!”, recognising Jesus for who he is.
 
Then we get that lovely and poignant declaration from Jesus that: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Isn’t that what “faith” is all about?
 
We weren’t there 2,000 years ago, yet we believe that the events occurred and were faithfully recorded and passed down through the ages.
Like Thomas, we’d like to be able to have some physical signs of God’s presence, but, instead, we must rely on our faith and be part of the greater number of people who “have not seen and yet believe”. 
 
So, to all the scoffers, I say that there must have been a cataclysmic event that changed the scared, hiding disciples, into bold advocates for the Gospel – the good news about Jesus. 
I believe that it was this meeting with the risen Jesus, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, that gave them the courage to go out there. Most of them ended up being killed for the words they spoke.
Would they have done that if the Easter message had finished on Good Friday, with their leader being crucified?
I think not.
 
From the immortal poetic words with which John opens his gospel “In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God” - sending the reader back to the "big bang" of the creation of the universe, to this final intimate moment of comfort and assurance, John wants us to know that we didn’t have to be there in person.
We didn’t have to walk the paths with Jesus.
We didn’t have to witness the miracles first-hand.
We didn’t have to be in that closed room.
Through the reading of John's message, and others like it, we can hear the stories and believe.
And, in believing, we can have life eternal.
 
As John says in the concluding verses of today’s reading: “these words are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
That’s pretty deep, isn’t it? Not just that we may exist, but that we may have life in his name.  Be wholly devoted to him and live our lives to glorify him.  And that we can live in harmony and peace with other believers. 
 
I like to think of us as Resurrection people - that is - people who don't need to have it all figured out before coming to church, or before helping a neighbour, or feeding someone who is hungry, or caring for someone in need. If we have to figure it all out ahead of time, then we'll probably never get started.
Because, frankly, don't you ever wonder if your acts of mercy, or kindness, actually make a difference?
We know that there are so many hungry people in the world - will the few we can help really change things?
There’s so much hurt in the world - does the hand we extend, or listening ear we offer, really change that?
Our first step on our journey can often be the hardest, but we need to take it to be able to achieve our goals.
 
Because we are Resurrection people we believe, as well as have doubts and, in believing, even in this more fragile way, we act, we reach out, we feed, we care, we tend, we struggle, we work, we love, all without any guarantees, just a promise from the Lord who continues to bless those who believe amid their doubts and keep the faith, amid all their uncertainties.
John 14:27 tells us that Jesus brings us peace. Not the sort of earthly peace that we’re used to, but the eternal peace that only he can give. He tells us not to be afraid, he has gone to be with his Father and we should rejoice.
 
Can you remember when there was a time that Jesus brought peace to you?
Close your eyes now for a short time and see if you can feel the peace of God flowing over you.
 
May the peace of the Lord be with you.

Pastor Rick

​Easter can be a hard time for some people. 
It’s hard to feel God’s loving presence when Jesus is being torn apart by pain, grief and disaster.  
It would have been incredibly hard for Jesus and his followers to feel God’s loving presence on that first Easter. 
So why do we call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday”?
Maybe it’s about God’s love coming into the toughest parts of our world and transforming it with his life and love.
 
I wonder, is it the cross itself that we’re remembering, or the suffering that Jesus went through on our behalf?
We know that Jesus had committed no crime and was blemish free.
He’d been tempted by the devil but had resisted - and even turned the tables on him.
Yet he endured anguish and suffering – all on our behalf.          
 
But did Jesus really have to die in such a horrible way?

The disciples, despite being told by Jesus what was going to happen, were devastated when he was killed.
Their hopes and dreams had been shattered and they wondered how they could continue without their leader.
They were in hiding – fearing that the religious leaders would persecute them, too.
Was the Christian movement about to splutter out and end on that Easter Friday, so long ago?
They couldn’t believe that the son of God could be defeated so easily by the Romans and the Jewish Chief Priests.
 
In John 19:30 we hear the last recorded words of Jesus before he gave up his life on the cross: “It is finished.”
But Jesus wasn’t admitting that he’d been beaten by the religious leaders. Instead, his words could be better translated as: “It is completed.”
In other words, what he came to do on earth had been achieved.
Even the seeming ignominy of dying on a Roman torture device.
Because he ultimately defeated death by his resurrection, it no longer has power over us.
 
Let’s take a closer look at that event.
The religious leaders thought they’d got the better of Jesus, but we know that it was just part of God’s overall plan.
In John 10, Jesus asserts that no one will take his life away from him, but he will gladly lay down his life for others.
In other words, Jesus says that no one will kill him, but instead, he LET himself be killed, to make a point.
And that point becomes all too clear once Easter Sunday’s story unfolds.
 
Think about what it would have been like in Jerusalem on that first Easter Sunday morning.
 
One of the disciples runs in breathlessly to meet the others, who were hiding away, fearful for their lives, following the death of their master, a few days earlier.
 
“Hey. Have you heard the good news?     He’s alive!    The master’s alive!
The tomb’s empty and he’s risen from the dead.    Let’s go and tell the others.”
 
Well, I guess that’s how the disciples would have reacted on that Easter Day, after they had gone to visit his tomb, only to find that the stone, which had been blocking the entrance, was rolled away and the tomb now stood empty.
 
Instead of finding the dead body of their Lord, they found two angels outside the tomb, who asked the women why they were looking for the living among the dead?
The disciples, however, were still a bit unsure and some, like Thomas, even refused to believe the words unless they saw Jesus themselves - touched his body – and Thomas even wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes. 
 
Only a few days earlier, on that first Good Friday, the world of the believers had come to a shattering standstill.
Their Lord and Master had been killed – crucified by the Romans - at the insistence of the Jewish High Priests, who were jealous and afraid of the popularity that Jesus had with the common people.
 
The Son of Man may have allowed himself to be killed, but he astounded everyone, including his closest friends and followers, by rising from the grave on the third day, just as had been prophesied in the old scriptures and had, indeed, been espoused by Jesus when teaching his disciples.
But he wasn’t an apparition, a ghost, as many must have thought.
He even ate and drank with his disciples and let them touch his body, to see that he was really there.
 
And he didn’t just disappear on that day, never to be seen again.
He was observed on many occasions, by many followers, over the next 40 days - before he ascended into heaven to be with his Father.
 
Oh yes, there were sceptics and scoffers then and there still are - even today - who say that it was all a big confidence trick - that he never really died.
But think about it for a minute - and this is the thing that really convinces me of the truth of what was written in the gospels about the death and resurrection of Jesus - remember how his followers had hidden themselves after the crucifixion and were afraid for their lives.
They were terrified that the religious authorities would come after them – to stamp out any remnants of the followers of Jesus, who had called himself the Messiah, the Christ, God’s son.
 
But following his resurrection, after they had actually seen him, seen the nail holes in his hands and feet, and the gash in his side, then and only then, did they become brave.
Brave enough to publicly proclaim him, and his message of love, to anyone who’d listen.
 
And not only in Jerusalem, or even Galilee, but throughout the known world.
Apostles like Peter, Paul, Andrew and John travelled widely and preached the gospel – about how God loved everyone, not just the Jews, and that he wanted to be in a relationship with them.
 
The apostles were so sure of what they were doing, that they were prepared to die, rather than deny Jesus.
And in most cases, they WERE killed, sometimes very violently.
And that’s still happening today, as we hear, all too often, that Christians in countries where they are persecuted, prefer to be killed, rather than to renounce their faith.
We know that the gospel didn’t finish with the martyred apostles, or those who’ve given their lives over the years. It’s grown and spread around the world to a point where billions of people have heard it and believed.
These are ordinary people, like you and me.
 
So, what should we do with this knowledge?
Should we just keep it to ourselves and feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
Or should we, too, go out into all the world and let others also share in the Gospel - the good news about Jesus?
 
Would you like to take part in the proclaiming of God’s Kingdom here on earth?
I won’t deceive you - it’s not an easy task, but we’re much luckier here in Australia, as we can proclaim the gospel without fear of persecution.  
That’s not always the case outside of our great country.
 
Surely, each and every one of us can do something to make this story known to others outside the Christian faith.
Search inside yourself, talk to God in prayer, and see what you can do – today, tomorrow, and for every day of the rest of your life.
 
He is risen!        
He is risen indeed!        
 
Easter blessings……..Pastor Rick

Let’s imagine that it’s Cracker Night (when it was still legal, that is - a number of years ago).
You take a cracker, a nice big one, a “bunger”, get your match, light the cracker and throw it away into a clear space.
You wince your body, cover your ears, and wait, but….…nothing happens.
So, you walk over to it, kick it with your boot, look at it a little more carefully and sense that it’s gone out.
You pick it up, break it in half and you know for sure that it’s a dud, a fizzer.
Well, I think that might have been a bit like how Palm Sunday went, all those years ago, in Jerusalem. 
Jesus came into town riding on a young donkey, a colt - and the expectations of a big bang event were high.
But it all ended up being a dud, just a plain fizzer.        Let me explain. 

On this day, when Jesus came riding into town, there were heaps of people in Jerusalem.
That’s because, it was a requirement for all Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to the Passover festival in Jerusalem, at some time in their life.
We know now that Jesus had a much higher motive than this for his visit.As Jesus slowly entered that city, people were jamming the streets and they were yelling,
“It’s the Messiah. Hosanna, it’s the Messiah, the Messiah is coming, just as it’s been promised in the scriptures.”
They’d heard about him and were excited about what he was going to do to help them out of their predicament – the occupation of their lands by the Romans.
Of course, they were expecting a warrior king - but that’s not the message that Jesus planned to bring to them.Soon their voices became one and they chanted together, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” 
They ripped the clothes off their backs and tossed their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus, grabbed palm branches and were waving them with gusto. As Jesus approached the centre square of the city, the crowd was intense, shoulder-to-shoulder.
Jesus got down off the donkey, and the crowd were wondering what he was going to say and do next.
Wondering if all the angels from heaven were going to come down right now.
But Jesus simply got off his donkey, walked into the temple where he had taught so many times before.They probably said to one another:“Maybe the temple will fall apart; maybe it’ll explode. Who knows what’ll happen next?” The Pharisees, who were afraid that the Romans would not like all the commotion, asked Jesus to stop exciting the crowd, but Jesus replied that even if the people were silent, the stones would shout out. Well, that’s my understanding of how it may have been on that first Palm Sunday. What had happened, the people would have wondered?
Why did it turn out to be such a non-event, such a dud? It seems like the people of God had misunderstood the promises of God.It has happened throughout history and is still happening today.

In the early days of the relationship with God and his people, as we read in the Old Testament, God promised the people that he would give them the Promised Land. God promised to give his people the land of Israel, a good land, a beautiful land, a lush land. But what did the Promised Land turn out to be?It was filled with all sorts of other people who were happily settled in the land, so it took 200 years to conquer it. 200 years of fighting to make the promised land their own – AND THEY’RE STILL FIGHTING!
Pretty sure that NOT what God wants.  Was that part of God’s promise?The Jews had heard only the part of the promise that they wanted to hear.The part they liked was where God said: “I’ll give you a land filled with milk and honey.”The Jews didn’t hear, or didn’t want to hear, the hard part where it would take 200 years to conquer it.We still twist the promises of God and only hear what we want to hear, omitting the hard parts of the promise. Everywhere in the Old Testament there are promises of the coming Messiah.
The Messiah was going to be a wonderful counsellor, mighty God, an everlasting father, and the prince of peace.This new Messiah was going to bring justice and peace to the land. Then, along comes Jesus, riding into town on a donkey, just like the prophets had foretold.But what did the promise turn out to be?Did this person turn out to be a wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father and prince of peace?Not in their eyes, because they weren’t looking for such a person - as I said earlier, they wanted a warrior King. This Messiah turned out to be a carpenter who rode on a donkey and got himself killed by Friday afternoon, so it didn’t work out the way they wanted, at all.He didn’t meet their expectations. Once again, the Jews picked out only the best parts of the promise, the best parts of the passage, the flower of the rose (but not the thorns), the best parts of the scriptures, omitting all the other parts of the promise. All throughout history, we’ve taken the promises of God and twisted them to meet our own ends; we twist the promises of God to meet our own happiness; we twist the promises of God to meet our own expectations. So, what is it that we want?Well, we certainly want to avoid anything that has to do with suffering, death, struggle or sacrifice.We omit all those parts of the promise. To repeat the floral analogy, we want the rose blossom, but we don’t want the thorny stem.We want the top glorious red, pink. yellow blossoms, but not the thorns. We always want ‘Palm Sunday’, but not ‘Passion Sunday’ – the Sunday leading to the passion of Christ on the cross. And that’s what happened on that first Palm Sunday. God promised Passion Sunday, but the people wanted the drama of Palm Sunday. The people of God didn’t want to hear about anything that had to do with executions, crosses, suffering and death. It seems to me that whether it’s a promise about peace, or abundant life, or freedom, all these great promises from God involve struggle, suffering, discipline, death, and injustice. There are always big thorns on that rose bush, and we, the people of God, intuitively want to avoid that.We want to delete that part of the promise. God has promised us a new kingdom, so let’s not distort what he’s offering by just looking on the rosy side.We also need to take the hard parts with the good.
Make no mistake, this new kingdom will be beautiful. It surely was an extremely testing and trying time for Jesus. 
It was the culmination of his ministry and the basis for the faith of those of us who are called Christians, his disciples. Let’s thank God for his generosity to us, by working hard to build his kingdom here on earth.And so, we await the passion of Jesus as it unfolds before us in the coming Holy Week.He endured all of this for us, so that our sins are forgiven, and we can join him after we pass on from this mortal life.Blessings on this commencement of Holy Week.

Pastor Rick