Strange Thoughts For Palm Sunday

It should come as no surprise that I would have some strange thoughts for a Palm Sunday meditation. I am told that many of my thoughts are "a bit different." If that is really the case, I can only hope that you have enough patience to forge on through to the end and find the relationship between my three questions on suffering and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

During the past eighteen months since Su's latest health crisis began (Yup! This has been going on for about a year and a half now), I seem to have ideas come to me in triplets - key verses to help me maintain my spiritual equilibrium; theological principals to help me keep a good foundation; and, today, three questions to help maintain a grip on reality. You would think I were a preacher, or something!

 Going through a health crisis brings out some natural questions. What have we done wrong? What could we do better? What is the right course of treatment at this point in time? It also makes you wonder a bit about the place suffering has in the life of a disciple.

Today, a message that Su and I listened to provided three basic questions that I want to keep in front of me as we continue on this rather interesting journey. Since we are all going to suffer at one time or another, you might want to keep them in mind yourself.

First: Will our suffering reveal Jesus' suffering through us? It is a grammatically difficult question to write down. What I guess I mean is when I suffer will others be reminded of how Jesus suffered and why He suffered? Or, will they observe me full of resentment and carrying a general sense of having been mistreated in life? Jesus knew He was going to suffer. He talked about it. He tried to prepare His disciples. Then, He actually suffered - with a real purpose and endgame.

It seems to me that Paul understood this question. When the apostle wrote the Philippians he was a prisoner - chained or handcuffed to a soldier. Sorry, but even if he was privileged enough to live in a rented house, that had to have been hard. There are times when everyone needs to have some "alone time." Still, Paul was able to say under those circumstances, "Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!" (Philippians 3:1) He wanted people to see Jesus, not just his circumstances, in his current situation.

[For the record, I have always disliked it when preachers say, "Finally..." and then go on for another ten or fifteen minutes. Paul is only half way through the letter and he gives the Philippians hope that he was about to end! Still, if he hadn't made this critical homiletical or epistolarian error, we wouldn't have great verses like Phil 3:8 or 3:14 or 4:6. So, I guess, in this case, I will have to forgive him.]

Second: Will the Christians who observe our suffering be encouraged to live for Jesus? When I was a new believer I read about missionaries like David Brainerd, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor and Jim Elliot. All of them suffered. Two of them died as a direct result of their ministry involvement. Judson went through a psychotic episode after the death of his second wife. Taylor died in a deep depression, believing himself to be a failure. I admired the conviction and commitment of each one of them. I saw Jesus in the way they faced their trials. I hoped I could be like them - with all the victory and impact and faithfulness, but with none of the hard times.

Unfortunately, it doesn't turn out that way. Suffering is one pathway to ministry impact. It doesn't appear in many of the current leadership books, but it is true none-the-less. So, the question remains, will other Christians be encouraged to live for Christ in some way because of the way we live out our calling?

Third: Will non-Christians who see us suffer come to know Christ? It was E. Stanley Jones who said, "Don't bear trouble, use it... Turn it into a testimony." Mark Driscoll - yes, THAT Mark Driscoll - says that when Christians are hammered by suffering they need to be like nails that are driven deep. And, as we go deep others need to find Jesus in us.

I hope that is the case. However, truth be told, it is a lot more fun to be a missionary when everything is going okay and when you get to have some fun adventures. Which, as advertised, brings me to Palm Sunday.

You and I are pretty changeable creatures. I think that sounds a whole lot better than hypocritical, but it probably is pretty close to the same thing. One moment our trust is strong, our faith is firm. A few minutes pass and we can find ourselves being overcome by the waves of doubt and fear. We determine to move in one direction and find ourselves being pushed by the currents in the opposite. Discipleship becomes drift.

John Killinger wrote in Day by Day with Jesus, "Reflecting on Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, John realized that many of those who cried 'Hosanna!' were also in the crowd that shouted 'Crucify him!'... John saw the irony of this. Jesus' real hour of glory would be when he was lifted high up on a cross and the crowds had fallen away - not now, when they were running to greet him."

So, and this is where I get to say "finally"and really mean it, I hope that as I go through this Passion Week, I will think of Jesus and His words, actions and, yes, His suffering. I hope that I can be like the women who stayed close to the cross as they were forced to watch the horror before them. As I meditate on these things, I hope that I can experience this passing struggle in such a way that I will be driven deep into Jesus.