Apologies for not posting yesterday. Computer challenges! All seems fine this morning.
The days of Lent are very quickly nearing the moment of truth for Jesus and his disciples. We, too, almost 2000 years later, can use the words of the chief priests and Pharisees: "What are we to do?"
The leaders were threatened by all Jesus was doing. They knew that if his impact upon the people was to continue to grow, they would suffer loss of power and the nation. Caiaphas, the chief priest for that year, knew what to do. The man causing their problems should die. Death was the only solution.
And what are we to do? First and foremost, we should not let the early celebration of Easter "vacations" distract us from serious attention to the sacred days of Holy Week. We should be prepared to spend some time considering what these days mean for us in our personal lives. We need to know what these days mean for us. In the days of Jesus, there was the fear of the loss of power and authority and of a nation to the Roman authorities. In these days of the 21st century, is it not should we not fear the loss of a genuine understanding of all that Jesus did for us and how that should impact our lives. For the Jewish authorities the death of the man causing the problem seemed to be the answer. For us today shouldn't it be our fear of the loss of the values and teachings of the man who died to save a nation, a people, you and me?
We stand at the beginning of the week called Holy. We stand at the threshold of a week that abounds with opportunities for all of us to atone for our sins and to hear the voice of God calling us where he wants each of us to be in our relationship with him and our sisters and brothers.
In the Ezekiel reading today, Yahweh speaks to his people: "I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them ... I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Always the question for us: "Have I allowed this loving and caring God to bring his peace to my heart?"
