When I signed up to be born I wasn't expecting this!

I suppose that, for most of us, life doesn't turn out as we anticipate. While children we probably don't have any firm expectations, but by our late teens we generally have some sort of dreams for our future. Some of you reading this might have had your life turned upside down by a catastrophic event before getting that far. The rest of us probably find that our dreams aren't fully being realized, if at all - maybe we're disappointed, maybe pleasantly surprised by what has actually happened. A few get through to middle age, or even old age, with everything - just everything - going to plan, but that's rare: normally we have to take what we're given and be flexible. When that something special comes along though, the one that you're ready to sell out for completely and give up everything else to achieve, the disappointment if it doesn't work out can turn to utter despair. Jesus, of course, knew from the start that his time on Earth wasn't going to be a bed of roses - for the rest of us that realization comes as we go through life.

For some reason, the seven days between Palm Sunday and Easter Day are called holy week. I'm not quite sure why. We're getting ready for Easter of course, making sure that we have enough Easter eggs, hot cross buns and maybe simnel cake to cater for family and friends, but that doesn't seem particularly holy. Jesus, of course, didn't bother with any of that. He seemed to be on a roll after Palm Sunday. He had had a lot of opposition from the religious authorities over the last three years, and a bit of falling away more recently from his large crowd of followers as he started to preach some tougher messages. He had also been talking to his disciples about the fact that he was going to have to die. Yet, when he rode into Jerusalem in triumph, it seemed that he had taken his place as the popular religious leader who was a descendant of King David, destined to bring in change. The crowd were firmly with him and even the children were picking up the chant of Hosanna to the Son of David (Matthew's Gospel, chapter 21, verse 15). Surely the authorities couldn't stand in his way now.

Jesus had his opportunity to try to take control of the religious and even political situation. There were vast numbers of people across the country who probably would have done anything he suggested at that moment. So he went to the Temple, overturned the tables of those who had set up stall and told everyone to get out who was there for commercial gain rather than religious purposes (Matthew 21:12,13). That looked like a good start - a positive piece of proactivity right at the heart of life in the capital. Then he had a few robust discussions with various leaders, delivered some powerful teaching, healed several sick people and performed other miracles. That's perhaps not quite so dramatic as the Temple incident, but he's being active, so we'll see where he takes it. Then on Wednesday he seems to have taken the day off! No, don't do that! He'll lose the momentum. Surely he doesn't need a rest after just three days.

It appears that he spent the day in Bethany, probably with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, along with his 12 core disciples and the women who had been accompanying them. We don't know much about what happened that day, but this must have been a key time with his friends, trying to get them to realize that what he was going to do was not bring in a new Kingdom of Israel, but the Kingdom of God, which involved going for seeming defeat rather than victory. We know that no one fully understood at this point. To be honest, I don't fully understand what is happening in my life at the moment; God could have made it much, much more straightforward. Maybe you feel the same. Why was Jesus not following through on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Why did he keep talking about dying, when the way to victory was to live? Was he going to let them down after they had given up everything to follow him because they knew that he was the Messiah? Why am I where I am at the moment, with no idea what God wants for me with regard to housing or future employment? Why are you in the situation that you are if God isn't indicating the way forward at the moment and his grand plan for your life? Is he going to let us down? Is he going to let our dreams be dashed? Surely not!

During that first holy week, Jesus was preparing for something much bigger than his followers understood, or could understand then. They saw Israel and Judaism as their country and religion that both required something new. He saw the need for the Kingdom of Heaven to be ushered into the whole world. When the crowds started falling away because his teaching was becoming more difficult to take, Jesus' core disciples stuck with him even though they probably didn't fully understand what he was talking about either (John's Gospel, chapter 6, verses 66 - 69). When he told them that he was going to go to Bethany, just outside Jerusalem, after he had clearly become persona non grata in the capital, they were concerned but stuck with him (John 11:14-16). When he told them on various occasions that he was going to be killed, they didn't understand but they didn't leave. John and the women didn't abandon him even when he had been condemned and was dying on the cross (John 19:25-27), although most of the men did just for a few hours. By running with God's plan - a crazy way of suffering and victory through defeat - they became part of the team who turned the world upside down (Acts chapter 17, verse 6). It's worth sticking with God when we don't understand what he's doing.

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Pomp and circumstance

OK, you can stop singing Land of Hope and Glory. That isn't what I had in mind. At the time of writing it's Palm Sunday, one of the bigger festivals of the Christian year. Traditionally churches would be quite full, even oveflowing, there might be a procession and palm leaves would often be distributed. This year, of course, things have to be scaled back and entry to a service may well be by ticket only. That, though, doesn't alter the fact that it marks a significant point in Jesus' life, one worth considering for a moment.

After three years of seemingly wandering around Israel, preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons and performing various other miracles, it was clear to much of the population that Jesus was a king - their king. He was the Messiah, the one annointed by God to usher in his Kingdom on Earth. He wasn't the puppet king Herod Antipas ruling in Galilee as a servant of the Roman Empire, or a Roman Governor, like Pontius Pilate: Jesus was a real king, appointed by God to rule over God's people. The anticipation was enormous as he approached Jerusalem. Everyone knew that he was a marked man as far as the Jewish authorities were concerned, yet here he was, brazenly walking towards the capital city.

Then, suddenly, Jesus escalates the situation. It had been prophesied that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem by riding in, so he sent a couple of his disciples off to fetch a chariot on which he could make a grand entrance. No, sorry, that's wrong - he got them to bring him a young donkey and its mother so that he could make a grand entrance. Seriouly?Pulling off a stunt like that - wowing the crowds by riding down the street on a small donkey - took a special sort of person. The Roman approach to arriving with pomp and circumstance was indeed the chariot, accompanied by soldiers and, if possible, prisoners of war; the crowds would have been familiar with that. Jesus rode in on a baby donkey escorted by fishermen, tax collectors, women and various other people of insignificance. Yet this was the grandest entrance that Jerusalem had ever known. Perhaps there wasn't much pomp, but there was a lot of circumstance and everyone knew it. Jesus was fulfilling a key prophecy which stated very clearly indeed who he said he was.

In fact, the crowd were so convinced that they were willing to throw their cloaks onto the ground in front of Jesus and his entourage, which might mean some cleaning and a bit of repair afterwards. They added to this with branches torn down from the palm tress along the road to make a green carpet. In doing this they were sticking their necks out themselves, showing public support for a wanted man. It was tantamount to rebellion, a popular uprising against the authorities. Of course, Jesus wasn't actually doing that and the mode of transport symbolized peace rather than war. He was making no threats against the state; his harsh words against the scribes and Pharisees had been intended to make them consider the state of their hearts, not demanding political change. However, for the moment he accepted the adulation of the crowd because it was, after all true: Jesus was the King of the Jews, entering his capital to usher in the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of peace located in peoples' hearts.

Jesus is the ultimate ruler. He doesn't want to overthrow nation states; he doesn't need to because his authority is higher than theirs and his kingdom is spiritually based rather than political. He wants our hearts. Are you going to let him have yours? Are you going to allow him to enter your life and take up his authority? Are you going to ask him to bring you forgivenss and peace in the midst of all that you have done and experienced? The Jews welcomed him into their city on this day around 1988 years ago. Today it's our turn to choose.

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Our salvation is coming!

Yes, now's the time of year when the Church of England celebrates the coming of the angel Gabriel to Mary to tell her that she was going to be pregnant with Jesus. Hang on a minute! We're approaching Good Friday and Easter. This is when we focus on the fact that the grown up Jesus died and rose again from the dead in order to earn us salvation - life with God while we're on Earth and a place in Heaven after we die. Sometimes popular culture sends the message that we shall live for ever because of Christmas; there's a warm fuzzy glow about being saved by the birth of a baby in a stable in the middle of winter, while we open presents around a tree in comfort with (maybe) snow outside. Yet, Christmas on its own was never going to save us. Jesus was born to die for us and so Good Friday was always part of the plan. He was tempted on various occasions to ditch that plan, take a path of giving people what they want through miraculous provision, performing spectacular acts to grab their attention, or even to worship the devil outright. Of course, the biggest and hardest temptation to give up came the night before he was killed, in the garden of Gethsemene, when he had the option of walking away before Judas arrived to betray him. Had he succumbed to any of those ways of avoiding the suffering before him, we would perhaps still have had Christmas to celebrate, but no Good Friday or Easter - and no salvation.

Maybe it seems a bit odd to celebrate Gabriel's announcement to Mary at this time of year. Of course, it's nine months before Christmas, and Easter is related to the date of the Jewish passover, which is around now. So it makes sense in that regard. However, perhaps it also serves as a useful reminder that Christmas and Good Friday are linked. The wise men from Persia gave Jesus myrrh - a symbol that Jesus was born to die. Simeon, when Jesus was presented in the Temple, just over a month old, prophesied that something dreadful would happen, which would pain Mary in her heart. There are various prophesies in the Old Testament that the Messiah was going to suffer for us and Jesus himself, on several occasions, prophesied his own death, explaining that it was necessary.

Jesus was born to die - that's clear. We're all going to die at some point, but the central reason for Jesus' being born at Christmas was going to be his death for our salvation. So at Christmas, let's not celebrate just a baby who came to save us, but a baby who was born with the expressed intention of dying to save us, and who overcame various temptations not to go through with it along the way. Equally, on Good Friday let's remember that Jesus didn't die because the Jews got fed up with him, but that this was the endgame in a thirty-something year plan that started with his leaving Heaven to be born as a baby among his own creation.

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