Where are you headed?
This Sunday, the train leaves the station. This weekend, Palm Sunday, we will parade around our neighborhood shouting hosanna! blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Along with the people lining the streets of Jerusalem two thousand years ago, we will rejoice, for our King has arrived.
And then, the mood will suddenly shift. We will realize that this King is not like any king we expected. Instead of riding a war horse, he rides on a borrowed donkey. Instead of exerting his power and protecting his people, he will let us wound him. He will be gentle when we want him to be defensive. He will bless when we want him to curse. As we walk the journey with him to his death, he will show us the way to live.
A poem by The Rev. Sarah Speed.
Where are you headed?
We are trains on a track,
moving through life at warp speed.
Please keep all arms and legs
inside the moving vehicle
at all times.
The years pass like a flipbook,
faster than we can absorb,
but the train does not stop.
We press our faces to the windows
to try and get a good view
and we ask each each other,
Where are you headed?
And there on the train
we decide—
we want to head toward
the promised day.
We want to head toward crowded tables
and long, healthy lives.
We want to move in the direction of joyful children,
and hopeful communities.
We want to move closer to God
with every mile of track,
and that does not happen by accident.
So it’s time to ask,
Where are you headed,
and who’s driving that train?
peace,
Mother Mary Lynn
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