religion

Luke 19:1-10, Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-19, Mark 11:12-25

Jesus is the Messiah, and as he rolled into town in a low-rider, the people cheered Messianic exclamations:

12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
   "Hosanna!"
   "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
   "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
 15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
      see, your king is coming,
      seated on a donkey's colt."

How do you suppose the religious leaders responded?  Surely the Pharisees would see all of the prophecies being fulfilled!  Surely the Pharisees would be the first and most sincere in their worship of the Creator who became Man, the Messiah who is the Lamb!

17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

And if that weren't bad enough, the religious leaders had set up all sorts of extra religious requirements and turned the Temple of Yahweh into a marketplace.  Jesus is quite passionate about the identity and function of the Temple, and the religious leaders are quite passionate about their religion:

15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written:
   'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers'. "
18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

How I wish this weren't the case today.  A few weeks ago, a young married couple visited our Sunday morning corporate worship service, and they had a flat tire when they got back to the car after the service.  Not a single person stopped to check on them or offer assistance.  Even in my own Bible study group on Sunday mornings we see complacency: a visitor will come in and very few people will notice and go talk to them to make sure they feel welcome and extend the love of Christ.  Why is it so hard for people (myself included) to get out of our comfort zone and invest energy in building up others?  Sadly, I think the spiritual condition of the majority of our US "churches" are like the archetypal US physique: lazy obese sluggards.

My wife and I were saddened to observe another instance last night at a reception after our evening service.  There is a physically disabled man in our congregation who is a dear Brother in Christ.  It is difficult to understand him, but he is a very intelligent man (two master's degrees).  One of his caretakers came to our service with him last night and commented, "I'm don't like this church.  People at my church talk to me."

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will give me the Spirit of Christ.  I confess that I am naturally a religious man, and I need you to save me from my sinful, lazy, selfish self.  Please give me your compassion for everyone, and may I be humble and loving as Christ was to everyone he came in contact with.  Help me share your love with those who are despised and rejected by the world.  Please bring revival to my Bible study group and my congregation so that you may be expressed in our community, city, and world.  I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who was despised and rejected.