“As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the 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 multitude said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’ And when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace (τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην)! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation (τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς σου).” (Lk 19: 37-44)
Today I want to be with those who “rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,” and not with those who are blind to His “mighty works,” because they haven’t recognized “the time of their visitation.” Today Christ “draws near” and “visits” my little world, whenever I open my eyes and heart to His life-bringing, perspective-changing Presence in our midst.
When I let myself be grateful, and to “bless” the Lord, His Spirit opens my life up to (even more) “blessings” from Him. When I just grumble, on the other hand, as did some of the Pharisees mentioned in the passage above, then I become blind to all the doors Christ has opened for me. And then my self-inflicted isolation, along with its ensuing fears, can become a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” leaving me embanked and “surrounded” by “enemies,” as the Lord warns the Pharisees.
Thank You, Lord, for “drawing near” today, and lighting up my life. “I am the door,” I hear You say to all of us this morning. “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (Jn 10: 9) Happy Cheesefare-Monday from Virginia Beach, VA, dear friends, and please see my Speaking Schedule here on our website, about my talk TOMORROW, Tuesday-evening at 7 pm in Brick, NJ, and please come if you’re in that area! Love to all of you, Sister Vassa