When Jesus and the disciples drew near to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of His disciples into the city to find a donkey that He could ride into Jerusalem on. If anyone challenged the disciples, they were to say that He needed the donkey. The owner would say, “Yes,” to them and give them the donkey for Him. Many people gathered and placed their garments on the ground so that the donkey had a path to walk on. They waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” (Matthew 21:9 – KJV)
As I prepare for Christ to come into my heart on Palm Sunday, as well as into Jerusalem, I am looking at the American flag extended from my flag pole out front. Just as the Bible details the things that will happen to Christ, I am concerned about the things that may happen to our service people, including my grandson who is in the special forces now deployed in the Middle East. I am also concerned about the Via de la Rosa, the walk of Christ, in Jerusalem where thousands of tourists come to experience the path Christ walked on with His cross to the mount where He died. My fondest dream is to walk that same path but fear the world has become too dangerous to ever attempt that walk. Now that Israel and the United States began this war against Iran, I am even more convinced that I will never make that walk, feel myself struggling with my own cross, or even to cry on the mount where He died.
You see, I am a person of great faith, but it is at times like our current situations that I fear the most about people who do not care about others, who do not care if they kill us with nuclear weapons, and who do not care about abusing their power just “because they can.” If American’s hearts tell us where we belong, why do we not listen, but rather, do something else? The man who made this decision for America has now deployed thousands of Americans to fight a war that was not necessary, that should have been negotiated. If we do not negotiate with countries, we will be forever prisoners in our own country.When our service people come home, what will this war have done to their souls? Our brave men and women know the price of war, but to be used as fodder for a war that has no reason, has no conceivable ending, and is one man’s desire to prove he can be a king or god, is not in any way a righteous thing. There is no purpose for this war but money and imperialism.
In my mind’s eye, I see my grandson and thousands of others walking Christ’s path right now. They are all anxiously carrying their crosses like Christ did so many years ago. They will never leave their partners in battle, particularly during a fire fight or after an IED explosion around a nuclear power plant. Just as Christ cried out in pain on the cross, I pray that our soldiers will be courageous and strong if they are wounded; I pray that Christ will heal the wounds we cannot see. And when our soldiers return, I pray that their families will wrap them in loving arms, just as Christ wrapped his loving arms around the disciples at the Last Supper.
Lord, please heal our hearts so that we may keep the joys of tomorrow in our souls and pray for peace that passes all understanding. If our men and women must carry their wounded crosses, we ask for the strength to help them carry those crosses, just as Nicademus did for Christ on the Via de la Rosa. We ask that peace will come to our troubled planet and that love will be the foundation on which we build a more fair and equitable world. A-men.
Anna Hartt
