Sunday, April 13, 2014

Blessing the Way 

 

 Matthew 21:1-11                  
 

In my Spanish Bible, the text says Jesus comes riding into town on a "burrito" (a young donkey). Today of course, that word brings up an altogether different image: a snack wrapped in tortilla and tinfoil.  

  

Imagine a grand fiesta in the big city, Jerusalem. A commotion, as a man comes riding into town on a borrowed donkey, performing some kind of street theater, a satire/parody of the Roman General coming in a fully-decked chariot (the military vehicle of the day) to announce a recent victory.

  

The storyteller quotes from the prophet Malachi about a King coming into Zion riding a donkey. Out on the street, a cheerleader begins a chant: Son of David, Save us! Save us! Save us! And then what do the people do? They bless the way. They carpet it with their cloaks and branches from the trees that line the road. Talk about audience participation!

  

Blessing the Way is what I ask us to do today. As the living Christ continues to walk humbly among us, let us bless the way. Blessing as this series tells us is "one of the ways that God sets in motion God's good intentions for the world." (SFTS , The Way of Blessing)

How might we "bless the way"? Perhaps we can become more conscious about how we live our days. What if we choose to begin and end each day with that ancient practice of morning and evening prayer? In the morning we receive the day as gift, as blessing. In the evening we gather our moments, we look at how we have become a blessing to others. We feel the ways in which we were met by God during the day.

  

As lovers of God co-creating Beloved Community, we commit to this daily practice for the rest of our days, blessing and healing all that is.

   

           
Rev. Rafael Vallejo

Minister and Teaching Elder, The Presbyterian Church in Canada  

SFTS Student 2007

*A note from the SFTS Chaplain: The devotion writer for today, Rafael Vallejo, curates an online community called CASA (Spanish for "home") on Facebook. In CASA, members gather to reclaim the ancient practice of morning and evening prayer. There is a prayer shared through Facebook each morning and evening, with the opportunity to comment and pray together. If you are interested in continuing prayer in an online community beyond our SFTS Lent and Advent devotions, CASA is a wonderful way to begin and end each day in prayer. To join, you can or go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/casacommunity and ask to be added as a member.