Dark clouds
36th Day of Lent
5th April 2017
The clouds gather at this point in the days running up to Holy Week. Jesus is on the road. He is heading towards Jerusalem with his followers. Expectations are uncertain. Some of those followers might be expecting an overthrow of a system of brutal rule. Some might be expecting the end of time, the inauguration of a new reign of God through a Messiah. None, none except Christ, were expecting a brutal death. Despite Jesus' warnings, telling them he would be tried and killed, the journey to Jerusalem was full of hope. There were extraordinary events: the raising of Lazarus to fullness of life and the healing of a blind man in Jericho en route to Jerusalem. It was an uphill climb. There was an atmosphere of celebration. They would be singing the Psalms of Ascent, psalms literally for climbing to, up the rugged hills from the Jericho plains to the hills of Judah.
Psalm 122 is one of those psalms. It speaks of the gladness of the journey, a journey never done alone. Yet, how alone Jesus must have felt. The clouds are gathering, but only he can see them. 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,' he would have sung. Yet, his is a path towards violence. 'Peace be within you,' he would have sung. Well, his peace rested upon his relationship with his heavenly Father. 'I was glad when they said to me,' he would have sung. How might Jesus have described his sense of joy, as the clouds gathered on that upward climb.
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.
Dark clouds
36th Day of Lent
5th April 2017
The clouds gather at this point in the days running up to Holy Week. Jesus is on the road. He is heading towards Jerusalem with his followers. Expectations are uncertain. Some of those followers might be expecting an overthrow of a system of brutal rule. Some might be expecting the end of time, the inauguration of a new reign of God through a Messiah. None, none except Christ, were expecting a brutal death. Despite Jesus' warnings, telling them he would be tried and killed, the journey to Jerusalem was full of hope. There were extraordinary events: the raising of Lazarus to fullness of life and the healing of a blind man in Jericho en route to Jerusalem. It was an uphill climb. There was an atmosphere of celebration. They would be singing the Psalms of Ascent, psalms literally for climbing to, up the rugged hills from the Jericho plains to the hills of Judah.
Psalm 122 is one of those psalms. It speaks of the gladness of the journey, a journey never done alone. Yet, how alone Jesus must have felt. The clouds are gathering, but only he can see them. 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,' he would have sung. Yet, his is a path towards violence. 'Peace be within you,' he would have sung. Well, his peace rested upon his relationship with his heavenly Father. 'I was glad when they said to me,' he would have sung. How might Jesus have described his sense of joy, as the clouds gathered on that upward climb.
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.
For some, such as those living with depression or anxiety, dark clouds gather and can take a long time to disperse, and you can feel very alone. I pray for God's peace within all those in a dark place today. God never leaves us.
ReplyDeleteHoly Week is a challenging week yet we are so fortunate to have the opportunity to observe it together at church services every night of the week. We walk together with Jesus, worship our Lord together, discover together more of what it means for us to follow Jesus, and by being together we grow in courage and confidence in living out our faith. So even when dark and thick clouds hover over us we might still be able to say with joy "Let us go into the house of the Lord".
You may like to listen to this worship song which comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOFKQzTmUck
I skimmed through the Psalms of ascent and tried to think what Jesus must have felt as he walked to Jerusalem, knowing for certain that he was going to die.
ReplyDeleteIt is an impossible task to understand what he must have felt. I imagine he felt in one sense incredibly lonely and isolated, but in another, buoyed up by the presence of his friends. No friend can fully know one's suffering, but the knowledge that you are not alone, and that however fallible your friends, that they pray for you gives you strength.
Continually repeating God's word must have given courage to him to walk with such serenity to Jerusalem, continuing to heal people and to preach. How could Jesus not have been irritable and angry with Peter, Judas and all the rest of his apostles when he knew they would deny, betray and desert him?
The only answer I can think of is that focusing on God and scripture gave Jesus the strength he needed to face each day.
Here are some of the verses that Jesus must have clung to:
Ps 120v7
I am a man of peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
Ps121:1
I lift up my eyes to the hills-
From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
Ps122v9
For the sake of the house of the Lord, our God, I will seek your prosperity.
Ps123 v2
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
Ps124v8
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Ps125
Those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but endures forever.
Ps126v5
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
Ps127v1,2
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late,toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
Ps128v5
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
Ps129:2-4
“they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.
4 But the Lord is righteous;he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”
Ps130:5,6
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
Ps131:2
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,like a weaned child with its mother,my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
Ps132v10
For the sake of your servant David do not reject your anointed one.
Ps133v1
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity!
Ps134v 2
May the lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.