Here is a thousand-dollar question for each of us: how do we respond to the things happening around us? Do we respond with dismay or anger or fear or anxiety or dismay or upset of some other sort? Or do we respond with prayer, asking God to show us how He is at work in the situation and to show us how we might be of use in that situation either to help Him or to help others--which amount to the same thing. A woman I once met never once tuned into a television newscast without a notebook and pen or pencil in hand, simply to jot down the headline in order to take it to the Lord in prayer. It would seem that this would be a great practice for each of us.

Today is known in church circles as ‘the Sunday of the Passion’ or “Palm Sunday.’ Contrary to popular, widespread usage, the word ‘passion’ as used here does not mean something like ‘heavy desire’ or such like, but rather ‘suffering’. Thus most of the Scripture selections appointed for today all touch on the suffering of Jesus in some way or other, and even the Palm Sunday account foreshadows and sets the scene for Good Friday and the Cross. As a youngster I once asked my parish priest why Good Friday was called ‘good’, when there was nothing ‘good’ about it, especially for Jesus. He replied that it was ‘good’ because Jesus died for our sins on that day. However, at that point in my life, I didn’t ‘get it.’ I didn’t see ‘the rest of the story.’

The ‘rest of the story’ is something that is touched on in our reading and meditation from Isaiah, namely how something so horrific and shameful as Jesus’ suffering and death could be turned into something glorious--through Jesus’ resurrection. Our sins were indeed cancelled out, forgiven and forgotten, and the hold of Satan and sin and shame and guilt and death over us was broken forever. It was indeed the precursor to something that ‘was’ good, after all.

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation raise a very good question, namely, how do we, each of us, respond to God when ‘the cards are down’, when ‘the tire hits the road’, when God seems to disappoint us. Surely Mary was upset with Jesus in terms of Jesus’ initial response to the illness of her brother Lazarus, but she got over it. (Some people don’t!) Furthermore, she showed her love and gratitude in a rather ‘over-the-top’ way. But then, by way of contrast, how did Judas respond? Surely he had experienced Jesus’ great love and seen that love in action, but his response went in an entirely different direction. So, what about us?

I say that, not in any academic sense, but in reality. For years, I harboured a ‘yes, but’ attitude towards God. "I will follow you and trust you, but only as long as certain things don’t happen in my life. If those things happen, then all the bets are off. I will be convinced that you are not really there for me.” But then, something even worse happened. And, what did I discover? That God was there for me even more than I could have expected or imagined. Even so, there had been that earlier hesitancy. I can’t help but wonder if that ‘yes, but’ attitude was also present in Judas. There have been other examples of seemingly sincere, committed followers of Jesus turning away from, so Judas would not be either the first or the last. Anyway, it is important that it not happen to us. May our ‘yes’ to Him be total and unwavering, regardless of takes place in our lives.

While I am absolutely convinced that God does indeed speak to His people--and to others as well--I am more and more concerned with how we listen and how we come to a consensus on what God is saying to us. I say this because, all too often--for me at least--what comes across the message for our times seems coloured by the views of a particular interest group, or by what will win votes or stoke international praise and popularity, or by what fits in with what everyone else is doing, or by what is politically correct, or by what won’t antagonize someone or offend their sensibilities. To me, none of these is any guarantee or indication that this is what God wants us to hear or respond to.

It is here that what our passage from Jeremiah has some relevance, when it tells us to listen to other voices--not necessarily the ones that are clamouring to be heard, and when it tells us to learn from history, the history of the church and world, but more importantly, the history of God’s dealings with humankind as found in the Bible. I am convinced that we need to do this collectively, to do this together.

I guess that I hadn’t really thought about it previously in much detail, just how wonderful our Saviour Jesus Christ is to us. However, if you have missed it, as I obviously had, today’s Scripture and meditation lay it out in great deal--just how close He is to us and how understanding, how careful in His daily interactions, and how committed, even to the point of death, He is to our ultimate well-being. What a Saviour! Wow.

So, is there anyone out there who is related to me? I mean, is there anyone who is quite so stubborn, so determined to do it by myself, so determined to do it ‘my way’? I mean, that famous crooner who immortalized a song with those words could have been a relative. And, it is nothing to do with luck or fate that one of my boys was heard to say, “Daddy, me do it. Me do it.” Surely a chip off the old block.

Actually, this tendency runs with the entire human race. Almost every world religion or philosophy has a list of do’s and don’ts, a list of things to do in order to achieve salvation or nirvana or whatever it is called in that system. The only exception is orthodox, Biblical Christianity. It tells us that we don’t ‘have’ to do it, that God has already done it for us and offers it to us as a gift, and that all we need to do is accept it. However, it is there that our inbuilt stubborn streak sets in: we want to do it ourselves, earn it ourselves, which is not the way that a gift works. Here, then, is where we need to put our stubbornness aside for a moment, and simply trust Him, and accept what He has to give us. It is hard, it is often a ‘stretch’ for us, but it is rather necessary.

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation should serve as a wake-up call for many of us, as it is easy--and probably quite normal, and quite usual--to have certain ideas, concepts, and prejudices firmly intrenched into our thinking and decision-making. Such was the manner of the Jewish authorities of Jesus’ day, who couldn’t--or wouldn’t--see that God was doing a new thing, fully at work through the life and ministry of Jesus. So it meant that their minds were closed, that they jumped to the wrong conclusions, and that they missed out on what incredible things God was doing.

I pray that this will not happen to any of us, in terms of what God is doing today, whether it be in our own personal lives, or the lives of our families, or in the life of the church, or in the life of our communities and wider world. God is indeed at work, and we need the eyes and the openness to be able to see it and embrace it.

I always find the example of the Virgin Mary to be most bracing, and most challenging. I mean, how many of us could say ‘yes’ to God so completely and unreservedly as she did. And without the questioning that we often have: the questions like what Moses and Jeremiah and Isaiah had, questions like ‘why me?’ or ‘I’m not fit, or I’m not ready. But surely, that is the secret to being used mightily by God: simply to say ‘yes’ to Him, just as Mary did.

I think that it’s probably safe to say that many, many people in our world are searching, searching for something that they feel, deep down inside, that they are missing in their lives. And, I think that it is also safe to say that many of them are searching for the wrong things or searching in the wrong places. Somehow, one’s search for meaning or purpose or fulfilment or peace isn’t going to be met by material things or by worldly success or by certain pleasures. All of these tend to be dead-end pursuits, pursuits that don’t really measure up in the end or really provide any lasting satisfaction. That’s the kind of thing that Jesus and Isaiah speak of in today’s Scripture passage and meditation. Ultimately, it is only God/ Jesus that satisfies, so maybe Lent is a good time to re-examine our priorities and our pursuits to see just where God or Jesus fits into them--and then adjust them accordingly.

Today's story from the Gospel of Luke relates a boyhood experience of Jesus, probably the only one in all of canonical Scripture, and most surely must have come either from the lips of His parents, or from Jesus Himself. (I suspect that it might have well been Mary, His mother, who told Luke, for there a number of accounts in this gospel that simply 'had' to come from her--the Annunciation, for instance, or the account of her visit to her cousin Elizabeth.)

What interests me about this account about Jesus is how very focused He was at such a tender age, how diligent He was in wanting to know His Father's will and purposes. To me, this says something about His dedication to serving God--and His commitment to carrying out His great love for us no matter what. I cannot think of many, or indeed, any twelve-year olds who have that kind of passion in their lives, and so I want to worship and serve Him all the more.

One of the most persistent and deadly lies propagated by the enemy of our souls, the devil or Satan, is that we, you and I, cannot make a difference in the world. And one of the lies that he likes to disseminate is that we are unworthy or incapable or unsuited in some way for some particular task. And, of course, he likes to use our society's criteria to spread such lies, criteria such as appearance or education or experience, to discredit and discourage us. But, gladly and fortunately, God does not use such criteria. He sees something much deeper and much more crucial than such external things. He sees to the heart, to our innermost beings, and knows fully well that there are things there that equip us much more surely than any of these observable, external factors. And so, today, remember that God sees past all the externals, past them to the things that really matter, namely who we are deep inside--and who that is, is something that God deeply values and uses. Amen.

Years ago in a sociology class, our professor gave a lecture on the perceived needs that religion is 'supposed' to meet. This was from the viewpoint of an outside, seemingly objective, observer. Perhaps it was meant as a critique, but to me, as a believer, it was right on. There are all sorts of deep longings, deep needs, that religion is supposed to meet, and that Christianity--or to be more exact, Christ--does indeed meet. Today's passage from John speaks of the deeper search for meaning and fulfillment, the deeper hunger that Jesus can alone fill. As the great Christian theologian Augustine said, "Our hearts search in vain, until they find their rest in you." Thanks be to God that we can find it there.

Like the crowds of Jesus' day, we are often uncertain and confused about certain things, and often have doubts and questions. In today's reading from John's Gospel we hear that some people did actually believe in Jesus and decide to follow Him--even if they were still uncertain as to whether He was the Messiah or not. But in this simple decision and action lies the secret. As we 'stick' with Jesus and spend time with Him, we come to know Him better, know His will better, and gain much more understanding of how things are and how they ought to be--not a full knowledge or understanding, mind you, but as much as it will serve our present purpose and situation. And what better time to be engaged in this but this present season of Lent.