The Easter story is complete with a whole array of strong emotions. From the Lord's emotional agony with His sweat falling like great drops of blood as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the weeping of His followers as His lifeless body was taken down from the cross, to the elation of many of those same follows just a couple of days later when it became clear that He had indeed conquered death and risen from the grave, the story of Easter spans quite an array of reactions and feelings.    We focus now on one of the strongest of these, the feeling of elation that accompanied the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a ride that took place just a week before He rose again.

 

Why, on that day, were people so happy?  It was because the Lord was doing something that resonated with their deepest wishes.  It is like a couple who wants to become parents finding out that the wife is pregnant.  The dream is then in the process of coming true.  People lined the road that day when the Lord rode upon a donkey.  Here was their long awaited king.  He, in their minds, was coming to solve their problems and fulfill their aspirations. 

 

Chances are that each person there that day was looking for something different.  Some wanted the Lord as King because they felt His power would be able drive out the Roman invaders. Others had fallen in love with Him as a great orator and healer.  If He was king, surely these qualities would be seen and enjoyed even more.

 

It raises for us the question: What do we want from the Lord?   

 

Perhaps it is best to answer this question by first seeing what it is that the Lord desires when it comes to us. 'Secrets of Heaven' says that, "The Lord desires a state of humility in a person for that person's sake."  It also teaches further on that, the Lord desires "total submission" so that He can "make the person blissful and happy."  All of this reinforces the words of the twenty-fifth Psalm which say, "The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way."

 

Given this, perhaps the thing that we should want most from the Lord, is that we might be moved into a state of true humility from where we can truly be led by Him.  We should want to completely submit to Him as our eternal King.

 

- Garry

We are so happy that our first retreat in beautiful Anthem, AZ went off without a hitch.  We are especially glad that we were able to accommodate some friends from Sunrise Chapel.  We had 15 participants in all.

Our weekend theme was Mothers, Daughters and Sisters: Relationships for a Lifetime.  We looked at the past, present and future of our lives in these roles, with a focus on Divine Providence.  An abundance of special quotes were collected and used in our conversations.  Our opening sessions helped us consider the positive impact we have had on our families and the impact that we will continue to make.  Later we discussed self-forgiveness, something that brings comfort to many of us.  Finally, we had fun playing with the concept of win-win communication, which is a process of moving from breakdowns to connections in our personal conversations with family and friends. This was followed by a study of body language, which showed us all how our actions can speak louder than words. Our demonstrations were very entertaining and telling.  Later in the day, Tryn Rose led us on a journey through life along a physical path.  It gave us an opportunity to think of our lives from their beginning and into eternity.  

We stayed in a private home generously lent to us by Rev. Wendel Barnett, situated at the Anthem Country Club. Between the peaceful outdoor environment, complete with spa and a firepit, and the great company and food, it was truely refreshing.  Well done ladies from the New Church of Phoenix.  I hope we can do another retreat soon.