Mark 11:8-10 Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”
You are astounded that, mere hours before I am betrayed, tortured and put to death, the people all love me. Yet, that is what my children do. I was given a procession fit for a king. I was cheered and lauded. Then, mere hours later, I was abandoned and traded for a violent prisoner. My children are fickle. You vacillate from one thing to another. You are tossed about as a boat in a storm. You are swayed by public opinion, by “science,” by politicians, by the media. You swear allegiance to one thing, then jump to another. You are not able to commit to something then stand by that commitment. Like marriages that crumble when one or both of you is unhappy. Like jobs that are tossed when they get tough. Parenting gets difficult so you throw electronic devices at your child, all while posting pictures and telling tales of the greatness of parenthood. You must have the newer, shinier, more exciting version of everything. You are easily “bored” and are constantly seeking excitement and stimulation. Stop. Plant yourself. Firmly. What do you believe? Whom do you trust? What do you stand for? What will you not tolerate? Who do you want to be? Learn to be still. Learn to actually evaluate what you believe, why you believe in it, what you will do to defend it. Stop acting as highly excitable children. You are so easily manipulated when you live that way. And that is evident in the current state of your world. Turn off the outside world and develop your inner world. Develop your relationship with me. Develop your relationships with those you love. If you do not actually love them, set them free. If you are incapable of loving anyone other than yourself, face that reality and seek my help to change. You should only seek my voice, my opinion, my Truth. You should accept what you learn from me, and institute everything you learn into your lives. Think about it. I am constant. I never change. I never move. My Truth is, always has been and always will be the only Truth. You are surrounded by fickle, feckless humans. Which is a reliable source of information for life life-me- me or them? You have been living your lives based upon the opinions, the “facts and knowledge,” the narratives provided by imperfect, selfish, self-seeking beings. Why? How is it working out? Where do you actually need to go? Whose opinion actually matters? When will you begin to see life as an eternal journey, not just a temporal journey that you allow to be governed by your feelings and desires? Those are fleeting. They change. They do not stand the test of eternity. Why do you spend your lives following them? (2022)
Amanuensis 