Lowly or Triumphant?

a verse or two

“The Lord says, I will remove the war chariots from Israel and take the horses from Jerusalem; the bows used in battle will be destroyed. Your king will make peace among the nations; he will rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:10

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Lowly or Triumphant?

This week I came across two different interpretations of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. These give a glimpse of two different kinds of Christianity in the world today.

One interpretation is of a king arriving in a manner never seen before. Unlike when Caesar entered Rome on his glorious war horse, Christ entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, arriving in the simple clothes of a peasant, legs dangling at the sides almost touching the ground, looking almost like some form of comedy theatre. Could it be Jesus knew how weak and ridiculous he looked making his “triumphal” entry? And was it really a triumphal entry or was he bringing something else into the world?

The other interpretation I came across suggested he rode a mule and explained the mule is a high value animal. Mules are a cross between a mare and a male donkey, and because crossbreeding was prohibited in Israel (Lev 19:19), mules were likely imported, making them highly valued. So Christ arrives on a prized animal. This idea combined with the thought of Jesus arriving on a mule to establish himself as the heir to the throne of David (because David declared Solomon his successor by seating Solomon on his own mule, giving a sign to the people that Solomon was the legitimate heir to the throne), suggests that Jesus entry is triumphant and glorious. He is now the new king, the heir.

One interpretation is very triumphant…the other…lowly.

Something to do: Think.

So was Jesus’ entry lowly or triumphant? Which interpretation do you go with? Spend time thinking on this. What are the subtle differences?

Of the second one, I can handle the symbolism of Jesus establishing himself as the heir to the throne of David. But when saying mules were highly valued – I think that idea misses the very point Jesus was trying to make. To me it smells of the kind of triumphalism that Christ was against. Yes he was heir to the throne of David but his reign as king would be different. His aim was peace and not war.

My opinion is Jesus did not enter on a highly valued mule but rather upon a common farm donkey looking a tad un-triumphant to say the least.

To Ponder and Pray: Different kinds of Christianity.

Jesus arriving on a lowly donkey, his dying on the cross – these actions were not of retaliation but suffering and humility. His act of love was not by keeping control but by letting go. The scary thing about “triumphalism” Christianity is it can lead to Christians being unloving. A kind of altitude ‘we are in and you are out’… ‘We are right and you are wrong’. But Christ’s way seems to say “be sad that the other is wrong” and instead of gloating, it is to love the one who is wrong, to not fight them, to offer the other cheek and not retaliate but to surrender. One cannot love without suffering.

Ponder the different kinds of Christianity in the world today. Some are elitist – almost snobbish (which includes reverse snobbishness by those who think they are not snobbish and that other is). Other Christians have a form of humility which my heart aches for and yet my pride seems to keep at bay.

My prayer is that we choose the way of humility, of suffering and of love; instead of egocentric triumphalism which say’s look at us, we won, we’re right.

God Bless you this holy week. Jon.

Love is what conquers

a verse or two

“[Love] does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13 v 5-7

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Love is what conquers – not expressions of hate.

An expression of hate was committed this week when a pastor in the US burned a copy of the Koran. It was foolish and bigoted. It was totally wrong and it did cause deaths in Afghanistan no matter what the pastor claims. Did he not know how Muslims revere their holy book – so much so that it’s never to be placed below their knees? Do Christians have the same reverence for the Word of God when Bibles collect dust, or they use a translation with 1611 English where the words are so out of date they have different meanings and parts no longer make sense?

This Lent, consider Christ’s journey to the cross. After Palm Sunday he cleared out the temple. What would he do today – would he burn a Koran? No! But he might enter a church and burn some Bibles. Why? Because people have used the Bible to justify harm and wrong actions. Because some people have made a lot of money out of selling Bibles (and in turn sometimes made the Bible more complicated than it needs to be). Because too often people have nice looking Bibles and all they do is collect dust – and so the living word becomes dead. Because some people carry their Bible around to look ‘spiritual’ yet don’t connect with the author.

When we read the Bible, it’s not to just read it and so do the ‘right thing’ or look religious and all that. It’s to connect to the author of life, it’s to have The Father wrap his loving arms around us and say he loves us. It’s to sit at the feet of Jesus – the word become flesh / the living word – and let him disciple us.

Back to the sin of expressions of hate. When at university I had a Muslim friend. On matters of faith, we both agreed that each other was deceived, so therefore correctly we did not patronise each other by suggesting that the two religions were the same. But in saying to each other ‘I believe you are deceived’, we also respected each other’s differences. There was no animosity and we could sit down together and share a meal together. I hope in the way I conducted myself, he saw a little bit of Christ.

Love is the conqueror – not expressions of hate. When Christ died on the cross, he wasn’t arguing that he was the truth. Instead knowing he was the truth he surrendered and cried Father forgive. It would have been much better if that US pastor had said to the Muslim community that he loved them, and instead of burning their holy book, tell them plainly and kindly he believed they were deceived and yet make an offer of practical help from his church to their community.

Something to do: Be Christ to someone.

Befriend someone of a different faith (that is easy because most people are not Christian). Don’t preach to them but rather show them you love them by what you do rather than what you say.

To Ponder and Pray: A prayer by Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582)

Lord, I am not yet ready for you to have your way with me -
but I am willing to be made willing.

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

a verse or two

“"Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

Last week I mused on the idea of renovation work. Umm … there is a problem when doing renovation work. It makes life difficult, it hurts. Studies on stress levels within marriage and family life suggest the stress levels caused by kitchen renovation are as high as a when family goes through the death of a loved one or shifting house to live in a new town. One reason is because the kitchen is the centre / hub of the house and if the kitchen is not working, the whole household comes under pressure and strain.

So last week when I suggested letting the objective Jesus wander along and see if any heart renovation needs to be done, what I didn’t mention is this can be uncomfortable. It takes effort and intentionality. On the other hand we know that stress is a good thing, it keeps us on our toes. Think of the high stress that the organisers of our Wedding Dress Extravaganza went through … but look at the result. (From a healthy mind, body, and soul point of view, the big thing is to not be stressed all the time – have gaps in between the high stress moments. And therefore allow stress to be an ally, let it be a tool so we are on the ball and do things well. Fill the heart with good things in-between the stress. Make time to restore your soul.)

We all work hard, in our gardens, at hobbies, our jobs and for church and we get results. So why do we sometimes sidestep the important work of working on and caring for our heart? Possibly because it’s unseen, possibly because our soul / heart is the very hub of who we are and when it’s having renovations, it affects the whole of our life (not just one part), and that can be uncomfortable. Or perhaps it’s because unlike hammering in a kitchen with lots of noise and sawdust, soul work can often be quiet, taking time out in silence, in prayer. Or could it be to us good ole Presbyterians with our good ole work ethic, spending idle time restoring our inner-being just doesn’t seem right – we should be doing something productive. Could it be that kneeling is the most productive thing a person can do?
Something to do: Kneel.

Kneeling is totally out of fashion. Even in the most traditional churches the usual position that people adopt to pray is either sitting, standing, or a strange posture that is only comfortable if one is about to shampoo their hair.

This lent, why not do something today that our grandparents may have done every day - find a quiet place and kneel down in order to say the prayer below.

To Ponder and Pray: a prayer by Edward Perronet (1726 - 1792)

All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.
O, that with every tribe and tongue we at his feet may fall,
lift high the universal song
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.