June 20, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘Then the angel who was speaking to me said, ‘Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’” (Zechariah 1.14-15)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Following up on the conclusion of yesterday’s perspective concerning Zechariah 1.10-13, I want to offer an answer to the question posed. I did not actually pose this question. It was posed by Christ who looked over Jerusalem, the Temple, the people there from the greatest to the least and in them saw the whole of Israel, indeed He saw the whole of the world and he wept. He wept because of the desire of His heart for it all and the refusal of that desire by all those He saw. He longed to gather them all like a hen gathers her brood under her wings but they refused to be gathered. In the gospel of Luke, we hear the extension of that conversation. It goes like this: “For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” The introduction to that conversation was “if only you had known what would make for peace but now that is hidden from your eyes.” How? How were these things hidden from their eyes so that they did not know “the time when the Lord God would visit them.” Imagine being one of the disciples or one of those in that greater circle surrounding Jesus. Imagine being one of them as they crested the hill opposite Jerusalem having come from Bethany. Imagine the vision they saw as the golden dome of the Temple begin to rise on the horizon gleaming in the light of day or that of the night as the fires were lit around the temple so that it gleamed brilliant white twenty-four seven. Imagine seeing the expanse of the walls which created the perimeter of Jerusalem. They stood strong on the hill as an object of attention and for the Jews an object of affection. This was no ordinary day. This was the first day of the week when Passover was celebrated. The streets were lined with sojourners who were Jews in pilgrimage come to Jerusalem to make their sacrifices to honor what God had done. For those who were there, the Passover declaration “next year in Jerusalem” had come true. For exponentially more, that declaration was only a dream. So, too, was the peace that they desired a dream. Even those who were there were caught up in the dream but it was a dream which had little hope except in maintaining the tradition of coming.

That day was different, however, as Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a donkey, the foal of an ass. The disciples were filled with the anticipation that Jesus, this time in Jerusalem, was going to exhibit great power. They believed that Jesus, this time in Jerusalem, would not merely go to the Temple and celebrate Passover. They believed that Jesus, this time in Jerusalem would confront the prophets, priests and king in Jerusalem with the truth that would make for peace. They believed that Jesus, this time in Jerusalem, would declare Himself to be “King of kings and Lord of lords.” They believed that Jesus, this time in Jerusalem, would declare Himself as the Messiah of God and in one voice call for the angels of Heaven to descend as a mighty army and silence the foes of Israel. The dream so many had dreamed for so long was what they saw in Jesus but was it the dream which God had dreamed for them? What God had dreamed for them, He who never sleeps nor slumbers, was what would make for peace, true peace. Yet, as Jesus saw the expanse of Jerusalem as it was, He wept. It was a city draped with the colors of Rome intermingled with the colors of Israel. The sound of Temple trumpets, Roman boots and Roman hooves echoed through the narrow streets and alleyways introduced by the cries of the beggars for mercy, food and a few coins. The collision of cultures veiled what truly made for peace. An uneasy truce was agreed upon so that the Passover could be celebrated. It was a token of Roman “mercy and goodness.” It was not real peace. Jesus later in the Upper Room would say “Peace is what you seek. I will give you peace but not the kind of peace the world gives.” In all that had happened on that first day of the week did not manifest the dream that any of them had. Such a disappointment to many who were holding on for the rest of the week, that one of them named Judas of Kerioth sold out and aligned himself with the enemy.

It was this uncomfortable truce of non-confrontation that became the substitute for authentic peace. A lull and an apathy had become the definition of peace. Tolerance, inclusion and silence had become the definition of peace. Even their silence was not true silence but cries for accommodation, empowerment and allowance like baby birds calling for their parents to feed them till they want no more. In Jerusalem that week, the very ones who cried “Holy, holy, holy” believing they were living the dream, would be overwhelmed by those at the end of the week who would cry nightmarishly “Crucify, crucify, crucify.” They eyes did not seize upon “the time of their visitation.” They did not humble themselves truly before God because God was not meeting their expectation. They did not choose to believe in the God who believed in them so much that He would send His only begotten Son to die for them as the greatest expression of saving grace. They chose instead to believe in the God of their own making wanting a political ruler who served the will of the priest instead of a savior who served the will of God. They shut their eyes to what made for peace because they were blinded by their own fears and ambitions to make their own peace. Jesus saw all of this in that moment when the golden dome of the Temple rose above the horizon and the valley below echoed with “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna.”

And the echo wandered back to the days of Zechariah who found himself in a dream where a “man in the myrtles” who would be “the man in middle” spoke the truth of God. What was that truth? The angel of the Lord said, “Those who are represented here have gone too far in their punishment of Jerusalem and Israel. I AM jealous for them, their love and affection and praise.” What would make for authentic peace was to no longer bear the burden of the world but share in the cross of Christ who would give His own life to honor God and God’s will. God had used the politics of the world to discipline Israel because of her faithlessness. He gave His permission to allow the enemy to “steal, kill and destroy” but they went too far in their attempt to alienate, eliminate and devastate a people and their God. The vileness and villainy of the world had once again created a chaos that had to be reordered so that authentic peace would again reign. But it was not with any exterior manifestations that would bring this peace. No, it was always meant to be the inner transformation of the heart, mind and soul that would make for peace. It would be a spirit of confession and repentance that would till the soil, sows the seeds and bring to harvest the redemption and reconciliation of a people who lives were a gift from God. Authentic peace comes when God is the center of our being and praise is our everyday vocabulary and righteousness is our way of life. This is what God is jealous for even today.

Let those with ears to hear, listen; and those with eyes to see, be open and see. Shalom.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.