Palm Sunday

I awoke at 5:15, without the benefit of the alarm. Audrey and I returned home at 11:00 last night from attending the funeral of our friend Linda Hurst Locke near Memphis, TN. Linda was Audrey's last roomate before we married, and a servant of Christ who worked on the staff of several United Methodist Churches in Tennessee. Her funeral was a celebration of her life, and the gathering of her family and friends in our grief. My body is now still weary, but I got a good night’s sleep and am ready for this Palm Sunday. Rochelle will lead the musical, Micki Pulleyking will preach at 9:30 and 10:40. 

Scripture – Matthew 23:29-39

Jesus laments over Jerusalem, noting that the prophets are killed in that city. The current religious leaders build memorials to them and say they would not have killed them. God says to them “behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city.”

Last night I read the daily reading from Bonhoeffer’s compendium and having just attended Linda Hurst Locke’s funeral, it was fittingly on death. He described the two deaths – one outer – from the bullet (or the gallows, or the knife or the blood clot, bacteria or who-knows-what.) The other death is the inner – dying to self every day, giving one’s life away, “losing one’s life that it may be found.”) Linda’s life was such an example, Bonhoeffer’s life was, and I desire for my life everyday to be such an example of the inner death of surrender, pouring it into the lives of others.

The prophets gave their lives away, saying hard and accurate words about God’s will and the people’s actions. There will always be a tension between what people want to hear, and how they will respond when God’s servants are obedient.

Guide me today, most holy Lord as your obedient servant, giving my life away on this day in April.