Holy Wednesday

March 28, 2018

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
Matthew 23:37

Once Wallace and I bought and restored a 104-year-old house. It had many features that were common to houses in the late 1800s such as a small back porch, which I determined was a perfect place for my potting chest and equipment for gardening. In a great wide section, over the banister and between the posts, I hung a beautiful fern. It liked the place and got bigger and bigger. I often went to the spot, enjoying my fern and preparing plants for the ground in Wallace’s flower beds.

One day as I started out the back door, a little Carolina wren flew from my fern! I carefully looked into it and found a nest with several eggs. Well, that was the end of my using the porch for awhile! I knew that if I disturbed my little guest, she would abandon her task and the chicks would not hatch. I did, however, occasionally pull the curtain back a tiny bit and watch her as she came and went, first from searching for food for herself and finally as she brought food back to her babies.

One day I stood there, wanting to get close but not daring to, and I said softly, “I would never harm you, but you can’t understand me when I tell you that. I wish I could become a wren, and then I could tell you how beautiful you are and how I admire the care you give to your little family.” As I heard myself speak the words to her, I knew something wonderful!

That is exactly what Jesus did when he came to earth. God had tried for centuries to tell of his great love, but we just seemed unable to understand! So Almighty God took the form of a man to tell us he loves us!

When Jesus speaks these words about Jerusalem, he had walked among the people, healed the sick, preached wonderful sermons, eaten in their homes, taught them the Truth. Now the time was getting very close for him to leave, and we see into Jesus’ heart as he looks out over the city of Jerusalem. The despair in Jesus’ voice cannot be missed. “Often . . . I have longed . . . , “ he says. How sad! The God of the universe has walked among men, has shown them carefully that even the least of them – the lame, the blind, the foreigner, the tax collectors, the children, the women – are important to God. He is preparing to die to restore them to fellowship with God, and they have ignored him and his message.

This week, I wonder if Jesus is not saying to us, here in Homosassa in 2008, “Oh, my people! How I have longed for an intimate relationship with you, to hold you close, but you are not willing.”

Prayer: Father, forgive us. You have made all the necessary preparations for us to have wonderful fellowship with you, and we are too busy or too frightened or too self-absorbed. Help us not to be afraid of being held close. Help us to feel comfortable in your arms. Amen.

Holy Week Devotional
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, March 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

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