The above is the title of a profound sermon by a leader of the Iona Community. In Kathy Galloway’s words, as Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem he knew that:
“Jerusalem was not a peaceful, prosperous city….It was a city full of rumours, threat, discontent, where the poorest suffered most, and cried out for change. It was a city where the pieties of the religious often seemed far removed from the suffering of the people.”
During the last few years, we can name so many other ‘Jerusalem’s’, and so many previously great cities which now lie in rubble – whether from war or the escalating tide of environmental disasters.
When Jesus entered his Jerusalem he did so humbly and with courage, showing a new way of kingship that did not mete our violence for violence. A new way of kingship that cared for all those in need. A new way of kingship that put love above all else. Love of God and love of all. Friend and foe alike.
As we journey with Jesus this Holy Week, we pray for courage to show this same love, and the hope we have in Christ.
Blessings
Rev Ceri
