Pastor’s Letter – April 2022

Dear Family:

On Palm Sunday, I was there, ready to welcome you into your city. I was part of the crowd which pressed in on you on all sides. Cries of “Hosannah, Hosannah”, filled the air in a frenzied chorus. You had finally come! The Messiah was now here, Rome would be vanquished and Jerusalem would be set free.

As I laid down my cloak on your path entwined with others into an ancient-day red carpet, a dark shadow came over me—a strange premonition as if a voice was speaking:

“You, too?

How many times have you misunderstood me?

How many prayers and hopes have you pinned to a messiah of your own choosing?

How many times have you tried to fit me to the messiah of your own dimension?”

The shadow evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. I watched you press your heels into the soft underbelly of your mount. Down the hill you went, around a sharp corner and you abruptly stopped. Spreading out before you stood Jerusalem in all her splendor. The gilded edges of the mammoth temple glistened in the sunshine.

I watched you closely. A single large tear spilled over the edge of your eye, rolled down your cheek only to be buried in your beard. It was as if your throat closed in a choke hold and I strained to hear your words: “If you, Jerusalem, if you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace.”

Just as before, a dark shadow passed over as if speaking to me:

You, too?

In what ways have you not recognized the things that make for peace?

I shuddered in response. There were too many ways. Right then, I knew what I would do. I would follow Jesus in these coming days.

I would not betray him.

I would not deny him.

I would welcome all that he could teach me about the things that make for peace.

Will I see you on the road?

Will you be with Jesus?

Easter Blessings,

Nancy