“Morning after morning, he opens my ear that I may hear”
Isaiah 50:4
Who are you in the scenes that play out during Holy Week? Are you the one adoring him with your time and treasures, like the woman who anoints him with oil? Are you Judas Iscariot betraying him? Are you Peter refusing to allow him to wash your feet? Are you someone in the crowd chanting to crucify him? Perhaps, you are Simon the Cyrene, carrying your own cross beside him? Or the wailing women? Maybe Veronica, offering him water and wiping his face? Are you one of those who sit at the foot of the cross?
Take a minute to let all the scenes play out in your mind and let the Spirit reveal who you most relate to today? If you feel inclined, who would you want to be today?
In reality, we probably are all of these people at some point in our lifetime. At times, we give him all we have and are. Other times we betray him through our sinful nature. Often, we refuse to surrender ourselves and allow him to nurture us. Then there are times that we weep for what he endured.
Some days, we may be several of these people. Yesterday, I moved through a few of these people throughout my day. The day started out a little rough when my daughter almost missed the bus and I was presented with a nice teenage attitude trying to get her out the door. And then later in the morning, my pre-teen exhibiting the same attitude when she was asked to do something.
How the morning starts sometimes can dictate a whole day. My afternoon appeared to be similar in nature as my morning when I was so tired from being up at 4 am in the morning and refused to take either of them to the store or salon as they desired. Until that evening, I refused Jesus’ invitation to pick up the cross and walk with him or just allow him to cleanse the emotions I was feeling of not being appreciated for the things I do for my kiddos and not receiving any empathy or consideration for how restless I was.
Earlier in the day, I received a text with an invitation to join a Zoom call on a Lenten series my cousin’s retreat house was doing. At the time, I gave her an answer that sounded kind of like this – “it depends on what my kids have planned for me.”
Jesus knew exactly what I needed – to rest and reset. I found myself out on the patio with my Bible and a Bible study I’m doing. As I sat down, I looked at the time. It was 10 minutes until the Zoom call would begin. At first, I told myself I would just sit and do my study. Something nudged me to log on. What I experienced was a very deep state of rest and surrender as the lady on the call led the group through an imaginative prayer on Jesus washing our feet.
Amazement and awe at how this time flipped my evening around.
Afterwards I went to check on my kiddos. One was laying down resting and the other told me she had just taken an hour nap. The evening ended in a peaceful, more relaxed state than the day had begun. My heart smiled as I realized, we all needed a moment of rest. For me I needed to surrender and allow Jesus to nurture that space of restlessness.
I believe through my day, I moved through a few of these individuals we hear about in the story of the Passion from the time Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Perhaps our invitation today is to contemplate what scene are we in from the time Jesus enters Jerusalem until his final breath was taken and who we are today in that scene. If it’s not the scene you want to be in or the person you want to be, allow the Spirit to move you towards that person you want to be today.
Lord, may I allow the Spirit to connect me to the person I am in the moment and who You want me to be today. May this experience carry me close to You throughout my day and the remainder of the week as I look forward to a resurrected life united more deeply with You. Amen
Women Who Walk By Faith 
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