We are once again in the final week of preparations for the highest feast of the liturgical year: Easter. During this holy week, we contemplate the events that led up to our Savior's glory. We recall that his ministry of feeding and healing and liberating was enthusiastically received by the masses when he entered Jerusalem because their world so desperately needed to be touched in that way. However, since he wasn't connected to the ruling class, officials were threatened by his popularity. They were able to bribe one of his followers into betraying him, and they were able to turn the tide of public opinion against him — they stopped at nothing to bring him down. Officials conspired to hand down a death sentence, and they had their military carry it out with great brutality. All the while, Jesus himself remained faithful to his ministry, and he willingly and nonviolently give his life for the sake of his mission.
Today — as then — we have a world that is in need of feeding and healing and liberating. There are hungry people in our own city and around the world who long to be fed, even though there is enough food in the world. There are unborn babies and elderly people and a lot of people in between who have health care needs that are going unmet, even though there are enough health care resources to provide for them. There are political prisoners and people sold into slavery and nations living under oppressive rulers that long to be free.
Taking a stand for any of them may make us as unpopular with the ruling class of our day as Jesus was in his.
But we will be in good company.
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
