What If? Palm sunday 2007
Luke 19
41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
A friend of mine at work recently asked me this question.
Geoff is there anything in the Bible that if the whole world practiced it then there would be peace and not the mess we have?
That’s not word for word but pretty much what he said. I immediately thought of the Great commandment.
“Love the the Lord your God with all your heart body and your mind and love your neighbour as yourself .”
He said to me well the neighbour bit is fine but I can’t subscribe to the first part.
I revisited the question the other day when I heard on a tape one of our past ministers say in a sermon that if the following passage was practised then the world would be a vastly different place.
Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
I started to talk about this but someone else interrupted the conversation with some frivilous attempt to tackle the question although I think that person is also searching for answers.
It is intriguing ,but in a way very sad that many people long for peace and they sense that the Bible has the solution, but they stop short of embracing Jesus as the answer to their quest.
A distant relative the other night sent me an email that was asking where in the Bible some certain passages were found.
He seems to be drawing closer to God from where he once was but I guess time will tell.I wonder if He will really be able to see who Jesus is as for many years he was involved in a cult.
The Bible says that at just the right time Jesus came into or lives, those of us who are Christians. In the passage in Luke, as Jesus
approached Jerusalem on what we call palm sunday, He said that the people had not recognised the time of God’s coming for them and He wept because of this.
As we meet around this table this morning let us be thankful that those of us who are Christians have recognised God’s coming in Jesus and through His death and Resurrection and our receiving of Him we can know the peace that only Jesus can bring. but are we weeping with Jesus for those who do not yet recognise Him?
If, as you meet here this morning and contemplate the message of Christ as we approach Easter and you don’t know God’s peace ,see if you can recognise God’s timing in your life now and that He has come for you.
These emblems the Bread and the Cup, represent the body and blood of Jesus and remind us of His great sacrifice for us . We will give thanks and remember the time He came into our lives ,but more importantly ,He still is our Saviour and still lives in us though His Holy Spirit and intercedes for us constantly.
Nb. I am now retired from the workforce.This was presented at communion in my church in 2007. Palm sunday was of course the sunday just gone.