I was engaged in watching these two Bulbuls, perched above a dry stem of a nutmeg tree in our garden, about 100 meters away, looking into two different directions, depicting two different body languages.
While watching them to follow their movements, I heard the call from the church close by which broadcasted in the loud speakers Hosanna Chorus usually sung on the Palm Sunday. It sounded lime a call to worshippers reminding them of the Palm Sunday.
When this music was blaring, one of the bulbuls started singing. Although its bird song was drowned by the loud speakers, I watched through the camera lens its beaks engaged in bird song.
My thoughts went back to the narration in the gospel of St Luke 19:28-44 where the phariseess asked Jesus to 'rebuke His disciples' from singing Hosanna (v39). Jesus replied, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out'!
The song of Hosanna was a song of spontaneous welcome to Jesus while He was on His way to Jerusalem. That song reverberates in the air down through centuries since then. Even a bulbul rendered its song yesterday on this occasion.
But just as it was then, it is today that some would like to force the song to die down.
Jesus of Nazareth was riding on a colt of a donkey and not on a horse. His humble and servant spirit is what cannot be accepted by those who oppose Him. It is an affront to their self seeking aspirational kingly status.
One touching scene in this procession was what Jesus felt while approached the Jerusalem city. Seeing the city 'He wept over it'(v.41). His agony was, 'If you have known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace. Now they have been hidden from your eyes.'(v42).
Many situations we are engaged in have these two possibilities-peace or conflict.
'Blessed are those who are peacemakers'. This beatitude is at the heart of human relationships. In a recent conflict prone situation spread over several months, I found the chance of peace dwindling with each week. Finally it collapsed. It was an intensely painful experience which I found hard to face. I feel the weight of this drawing me in to self doubt about the prospect of peace in difficult circumstances.
The peace process stays hidden.
It is a journey to discover the peace process in each situation. That is why I feel sorrowful for loosing the way to discover peace.
The song of Hosanna was an announcement of peace. But what followed a few days later in the garden of Gethsemane was violence leading to the crucifixion of the one who came to bring peace.
The Hosanna song can have its meaning only if it is associated with the song of resurrection.
To feel dissipated from the mission of peace because of Golgotha is a conclusion because of short sight; if we let the message of resurrection were to prevail, no peace process will ever end in a contrary way.
However, the peace process starts by cleansing. That was what happened at the Jerusalem temple, when Jesus had to restore the temple from being a place of merchandise to a house of prayer (Luke 19:46).
The inner cleansing is a personal exercise that is often too difficult to face and to go through The house of prayer within my soul is occupied with thoughts of harm, disregard, suspicion or indifference. Its cleansing is the beginning of restoring my soul to be a house of prayer.
It is when my interior ambience is prayerful, one shall find the consolation of peace.
We read in Luke 19:47, that Jesus 'was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy him'.
Those who lead us can lead us astray as they live contradicting the voice and the message of the Lord they seem to represent. But, 'they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging upon His words'(v48).
We live when those who lead us have a contrary view of Jesus, but many in the rank and file are followers of His word and abide in them.
This is the destiny of those who seek for the Christmas message of peace and goodwill among people. We would encounter resistance from those who are called to shepherd us, but there are many others who are seeking after Jesus.
Hosanna and resurrection are intertwined. Both contribute to each other for us to live in hope. Those who sang hosanna turned to cry out a few days later, 'crucify Him'. But those who tarried at the tomb of Jesus witnessed the resurrection joy.
The Hosanna experience can be followed by sorrowful events, but what shall follow would be resurrection experience.
Hence live cleansing the interior of our lives, which is where peace shall dwell and the Prince of peace shall reign!
The human heart is God's abiding place!
M.C.Mathew(photo and text)
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