Session 7: Palm Sunday
Today, set your eyes on Jerusalem… You are not hurrying onwards towards a familiar destination… You are not running away to the past… You are walking with purpose because you know who it is that you are following… Jesus knows exactly where he is going and you want to follow… Listen to these words from the first Gospel of Palm Sunday…
Luke 19:33-38
As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’
See the crowd as they rush to welcome Jesus with cries of “Hosannah”… but they are not the ones who have followed him there… it is those who have lived that unhurried life in the footsteps of Jesus that know his real destination… Allow sadness to enter your heart as you realise how little time there is left…
As you prepare in your heart to go with Jesus into Jerusalem, ponder the significance of the cross… See how that one moment is superimposed upon every moment of human history… Understand how it weighs upon each precious moment that God has given us… Feel its weight in this very moment of prayer… Let God show you how to respond…
As you come to the end of the retreat, take a moment to look back over the season of Lent… Recall the three commitments you made at the start… You will fast from the need to be busy… You will give alms of loving kindness to those in need… You will pray in the solitude of your heart… As you recall the unhurried life you have lived during Lent, give thanks for where you have held fast to your commitment… and feel sorrow for where you have let it go… Speak with Jesus about how he has prepared you to enter with him into his passion…
You have given all to me
To you, Lord, I return it
Everything is Yours, do with it what You will
Give me only Your love and Your grace,
That is enough for me.
Amen.