Fixing One's Gaze on Jerusalem

How did Jesus feel while entering Jerusalem? Did he indeed feel like a King triumphantly entering his city after a victory at battle? Did He rejoice at the sight of all the people acclaiming Him as Son of David, laying their garments on his way?

Probably not, because He knew at that point that death was already a real and inevitable possibility. And anyone confronted with death trembles
at that the sight.

But going to Jerusalem is something he has firmly decided on much earlier, in Luke's Gospel, as early as Chapter 9. V. 51: "and he has set his face to go to Jerusalem". Jesus enters Jerusalem, then, with determination and firmness, albeit certainly with the usual human fear and anxiety before an impending suffering and possible death.

May we, too, enter our own Jerusalems with the same firmness as Jesus did.

Testing the Faith, Risking the Friendship

The readings for today mention Abraham, whom the Jews claim as their father, the father of believers. The first thing that most people remember about Abraham is his prompt obedience in carrying out God's will to sacrifice his son, Isaac. They take note of how it must have been very painful for Abraham to lose his only son who was the most precious treasure he had. The Genesis account does not bother to tell the reader about how Abraham felt. It leaves to the reader's imagination or contemplation to enter the mind and heart of Abraham and feel the suffering and dilemma, probably confusion and frustration at such a brutal demand from God.

What if we enter the mind and heart of God?... and try to discover, at least in our imagination and contemplation, how he felt as he placed Abraham in such a difficult situation. Could it be that God himself was suffering, feeling the same dilemma and confusion as Abraham did, first because He himself is a Father (and would in fact undergo the same experience when He will have to sacrifice His own Son for our sake). And also because Abraham is not just any creature or person to Him. Abraham is His friend, to whom He has revealed Himself, whom He allowed to have an intimate relationship with Him, to whom He promised the very same son He now is asking for from Him. Who would want to hurt a friend?

Whatever pain or suffering Abraham went through in obeying God's will, God, too, felt in His own heart. If the risk on Abraham's part was big enough, the risk on God's part was even greater. For what was at stake was the faith, and the friendship, the relationship which has already been established between the two of them. But God was not afraid to risk. And so was Abraham. They tested each other. The proved each other worthy of faith, of trust, of friendship.