“Is This What We Expected?”

“The skies are bright on this brisk Spring morning in Old Jerusalem, and the street crowds are more excited than usual for this Passover holiday.  Our correspondent passes on the rumor that one Jesus, from either Nazareth or Bethlehem, will be making a major statement about the current state of Roman occupation.  Some of his followers claim that he’s the new Messiah, a reincarnation of David, ready and able to seize the crown and establish a righteous Jewish nation again!  But they’re from Galilee, hardly a center of political understanding…

“This Jesus has made quite a reputation for himself as a teacher and healer, working many amazing miracles in the name of God.  The Pharisees accuse him of blasphemy, and of circumventing the ancient Law.  Sadducees and Temple Officers have also considered him dangerous to the Temple grounds, although he and his disciples have made several visits there to observe the Jewish holy days and festivals.  So this morning his retinue has gathered on the Mount of Olives, the traditional site where the Messiah  is said to appear.  We expect him to be at the Jerusalem gates at any moment…                                                                                                               

“And look!  Now I believe that something is happening!  A large company of street-people are shouting “Hosanna!  God has saved us!”, and they’re making a way of coats and palm branches for his horse and chariot.   This may get unwelcome attention from the Roman Legion, since palm branches have been outlawed since other revolutionaries used them as symbols of insurrection.  Wait…there’s no chariot, but Jesus is astride a colt!   Hardly what we would expect from a would-be King and challenger to the Roman might…

“Sir, what do you expect of this Jesus?…..a leader for the zealots who will make our life better?

“And you, miss?  ….someone who’ll bring prosperity and break the yoke of slavery?

“Many are quoting Psalm 118, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.  We bless you from the house of the Lord.  The Lord is God, and he has given us light.  Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.’  Will this poor man meet the expectations of the People, or is he just one more pretender to holiness?  For today, the street-crowd expects a shift in power… and tomorrow?

“This is Eli ben-Smuel, reporting from the Old City of Jerusalem.”

Followers have been tortured and killed, others of us shunned for our stance on justice, equality and acceptance.  Neighbors snicker when they see us en route to worship.  Jesus said to expect these things, even as the Kingdom of Heaven unfolds.

This may be a week when your own expectations of Jesus shall be changed: may the turmoil of the City be yours as well, and may you ask “Who Is It?”….until the Sign of Jonah, Easter Sunday….

God Bless Us, Every One                       Horace Brown King