John’s gospel, 12:1-11, points out three interesting things that help to clue us in to Who Jesus is and what is about to happen. First, the gospel tells us that six days before the Passover, Jesus was in Bethany with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. It’s interesting that just a week before His own resurrection, Jesus visits the man who had already been brought back from the dead. Perhaps Jesus was trying to give His followers a reminder that being laid in the tomb isn’t necessarily the end.
It’s the first day of Holy Week. Today Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of hosannas. The world loves Him–both those who believe He is merely a talented prophet or healer and those who believe He is the Messiah. Regardless of the category into which the people fall, it will be only days before they are all clamouring for his death. Think about that for a moment. He is followed and adored just mere days before those same shouts morph into cries of, “Crucify Him!”
In this final day of our journey towards a greater humility, we ask Jesus to give us the grace to desire that others are considered more than we. As John the Baptist, we must seek the Lord first and allow Him to increase while we decrease.
The increasing popularity of social media has put focus on just how deep our “I trouble” goes. We’re constantly photographing ourselves and then checking to see how many people approve of the post—aka approve/like us.
The fear of being forgotten can leave us emotionally—sometimes physically—frozen. For many, the very thought of being left behind, being alone, is enough to drive them to the opposite extreme—clamouring to be consulted, to have our opinion matter so much to others that they seek our advice for minute details.
