Palm Sunday

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the begging of the end of Jesus' temporal life.

A layman gave the sermon. I don't remember what he said, as much as what the Spirit said.

Jesus suffers.

Can we suffer with him this week? That was the question at first. It was tempting to hear that question and get to abstract with it. Suffering is just to large a category in life. I heard a simple voice saying not all suffering, not even your neighbor's suffering, don't drag your self down in things you have to guess about. Think about the suffering you do know about and just that, it's more than enough to walk with and then as your walking know that He's taking it on too. Jesus is suffering this week as you are. That's enough.

You can look at it because he's right there with you and he knows.

He is not far off judging you in the midst of it.

In His time, he was betrayed by a friend to be executed, the rest denied they even knew him. He was unjustly executed by the powers that be. He was publicly shamed stripped naked, beaten.

He knew every kind of suffering a human could know, and then in the last moments he knew the ultimate suffering that we know; to be cut off from the creator, our first love and the one for whom we were made. When I think of that I can look into Jesus' face and exchange a knowing look. He knows as we do what it's like to be cast out from home.

Here is the savior who came all the way into our suffering and stayed there. He did not leave. He did not look away. He did not judge. Not this week, though that's what everyone was hoping for. That's what the palms where about, hailing the king who was suppose to reign.

The crowd, his friends, even us, were looking for an end of suffering through judgement, not an end by redemption.

This week I will enter the suffering with courage because he has done it and can show the way.