At church this morning, we celebrated Palm Sunday. The pastor was
talking with his puppet, Jake, about how many of us like God when things
are going well, but we are tempted to forsake God when things are going
badly. Similarly, there were people who were cheering for Jesus when
he was entering into Jerusalem on a donkey, yet they were calling for
his crucifixion soon thereafter.
I do not know if that was actually the case, for the people who
cheered for Jesus may not have been the same as the people who called
for his crucifixion. Still, I think that my pastor was making an
important point. Right is right, and wrong is wrong, regardless of what
is going on in my life. That is why I think that it is important for
me to honor God, the embodiment of love and righteousness, even when
things are not clicking for me. The way is still right.
We did not have a sermon this morning. Instead, we performed the
“Weeping Tree,” a story about the tree that was used for Jesus’ cross.
The first rehearsal a couple of weeks ago was a little rough—-we were
rehearsing for two hours, and even then we had not gotten it right! The
director, however, said it was a bad rehearsal, but we would have a
good performance. And I would say that we did.
I would be lying if I were to say that all was well for me today on
the religion front. I was short with someone this morning, and so I
felt guilty during the church service. I was thinking about how we have
all sinned and made mistakes and that’s why Jesus died for us, but then
I had different thoughts as I was walking home. I was thinking to
myself that, yes, I made a mistake, but I had to move on, and I had to
try to avoid making that mistake in the future. I asked myself why I
was so insecure about taking a suggestion from somebody, that I was
short with that person. Hopefully, that will enable me to handle
similar situations in the future with more composure. Although this
thought process was more psychological than religious, I cannot say that
religion was completely divorced from it: I will need God’s help to be
courteous with people, especially when I am nervous, insecure, or
perhaps annoyed (which is my own fault). Many others are going through
things, after all, and they still manage to be courteous to me.
I am grateful when people forgive me. Does that make me more
forgiving of others? Well, I’m still mad at certain people. And, even
if I somehow managed to stop my anger and to regard the people who
offended me as human beings with flaws, like me, I am very hesitant to
restart relationships with those people. So does God refuse to forgive
me because I have not forgiven others, a principle that Jesus affirmed
in the Sermon on the Mount? If so, then I am not sure what to say!
There are some people from whom I want to keep my distance! I am still
grateful to those who forgive me, though, and I resolve to be the sort
of person they want to be around.