Listen to this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZSirSqpM54
Bible Text
- So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” John 12:13
- They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” John 19:15
- And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
– Jesus said .., “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” John 20:21
Meditation
How many of those who shouted “Hosanna… King of Israel” also shouted five days later “Away with him, … crucify him!”? The tide had changed, and the flow with it. How often did I stand for something, but as the tide around me changed, so did I? Sometimes by watching or even supporting an unjust action?
Whom did Jesus have in mind when saying “Father, forgive them”? The Romans, Priest, Pharisees, Sadducees, Judas, the people? Or maybe all of them? Do I also pray “Father forgive them” and consider my family, colleagues, neighbors, national ruling authorities, pastors, missionaries, church members, or nations? Maybe all of them? Are there people I exclude in this prayer?
Can I hear Jesus saying to me: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you”? I can have peace because Jesus absorbed the fatal consequences of my sin and so did he for all others. As I accept this peace, can I say wholeheartedly: It is my desire that all get to know this peace, and I will be engaged in this endeavor?
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24: 46-47)
Prayer
– Pray that God will give you the strength to stand for Jesus, living out his will, even if the tide around you flows against it.
– Pray that in this Easter week, you can accept again, that Jesus’ sacrificial obedience was for you. So you can have peace and eternal communion with the father.
– Pray, that Jesus will invade your heart and your soul with his love for you and for the lost. Will fill you with a deep concern for the people close to you or far away.
-Pray that as the church celebrates Easter, they will grow in awareness that Jesus’ word “ Father forgive them” Was meant for them, and so was “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.”
– Pray that we come to Despertar 22 with a prepared heart to celebrate the resurrected who gives us peace and sends us to engage in the proclamation of this peace to all nations.
– Pray for all Ukrainian people and for the Russian military to be able to celebrate Easter and acknowledge that Jesus’ sacrifice is offering them eternal peace and calls them to be peacemakers.
