Simple Shalom

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:28-40 ESV).

There are always those things in life that we seem to dread facing. Our reading today is one of those times. I can’t even begin to imagine the dread I would have felt knowing what was ahead if I had been in Jesus’ position. All of us know something of that feeling. We may dread bad things and even good things. Some have difficulty facing attending parties where they don’t know many people. It may be the simple act of going to unfamiliar places. For me I always dread traveling to get somewhere. I like the “there”; however, getting there can sometimes be such a chore. Most of that emotion is rooted in change. I get accustomed to the routine of life. There is such comfort in knowing what’s next. Whatever the reason though, we can be sure that the emotion of dread is a display of a lack of trust in what God is doing in our life. In today’s reading, Jesus shows us how Shalom is done. The plan is to go to Jerusalem and have all the sins of mankind piled on you. You’ll carry them all to a cross where you’ll die a painful death as a demonstration of God’s great love for mankind. My reaction would have been far different that His. Jesus embraced it because He knew peace, or Shalom. His life was in God’s hands and He trusted God, plain and simple. Jesus trusted God with the provisions needed. He let God worry about the reactions of a crowd which today shouts “Hosanna” but soon will shout “Crucify him!” He let God deal with the Pharisees. And if God wanted the rocks to cry out instead, He’d trust God to make it all work out. Jesus modeled what humbly trusting in God looks like. Trusting God ought to be plain and simple. Perhaps today would be a great day for you to think about the reason you struggle with change. Trust that to Him! It will go better for you!