Advent, Day 2

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” - Matthew 21

Image from
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/palm-sunday

It's a flashback scene! We're nowhere near Palm Sunday, yet today we read about Jesus' triumphal, humble entry into Jerusalem just days before his crucifixion.

The king is coming. Yet this is not the kind of king anyone expected. He's not going to lead a military uprising. He's not going to throw the Romans out of Palestine. The nation of Israel will not be restored on his watch. So how can we say, with Isaiah, that "the government shall be upon his shoulders?" How do we know that Christ has come, when all the big, important stuff around us seems to be going on exactly the same way as it was before?

When the king comes, he does not change the world. He changes us. We are able to see the world in new ways, and we are able to relate to each other in ways we couldn't have imagined before.

We sing it in the song "O Little Town of Bethlehem": "How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given." When the king comes, will we notice? Can we slow down and be quiet enough to allow the king entry into the Jerusalem of our own hearts?

Today, take ten minutes just to be still and know that Jesus is King.