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1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. 29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 NRSV Bible)
Happy Tuesday, ConCafe Family! May this be a day filled with blessings and joys for you to enable your faithful witness and fruitful ministry of love and compassion for others. We continue to pray for Baby Hudson, that God bring his needed healing and strength. Prayers for his mom and dad and his grandparents and all the family who loves him and expectantly expect his joining the family fully soon. Prayers for the recovery of Ms. Kathy Howard of Gonzales, who underwent hip replacement surgery in Houston on Monday morning. Please pray for her recovery. I do not have an update of how the surgery went, but we are trusting God. May our continued prayers for peace in Ukraine, that the Russian spirit of aggression change to a spirit of cooperation and understanding. Pray for one another. Pray for your needs. Pray for the needs of the world.
Palm Sunday should be a day of praise and gratitude to God. The psalmist captures the spirit with which Jesus was welcomed on that day into Jerusalem. Those in the crowd regardless of their situation knew that God's love was steadfast; it never wavered, and it was always focused on His people. The psalmist records that and encourages people who read this psalm to give thanks to God and to share with others their faith that God's love endures for all time. Then the psalm shifts to the prophetic vision the psalmist had about that day in the future, and as he's writing this, he has no idea when such an event would take place. It was not the prophet's job or responsibility to assign a date; his job was to share the hope of the vision. The prophet shares the thoughts of the coming messiah who would say, "Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord." Notice the gates of the city are seen as a path of righteousness; entering into the presence of God is a righteous act in and of itself. To be in the presence of God brings righteousness and sets up the spirit for the one entering to be thankful. And the passage is more about Who Jesus is for all the ages. The prophet describes the role of the messiah as being one of savior and even called "The chief cornerstone" of God's plan for humanity, and even declares it to be the Lord's work and declares the day as "the day the Lord has made; let us rejolce and be glad in it."
Salvation is the central theme and purpose of Christ's coming. The political and military messiah expected could not do what our spiritual Messiah did in His coming. The rule of the Romans was not overthrown, but those captive to sin were set free. The temporal rule of Caesar would not match the eternal rule of Jesus; and the peace of God far surpassed the Pax Romana. The cry for salvation has not yet ended, and we praise God for those who come to that point in their lives where they can and do cry out to the Lord, in their own way, asking, "Save us, we beseech You, O Lord!" And the prophet says, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Light from God has come through the arrival of Jesus. The "festal procession with branches, leading to the altar, is but a preview of the throng of the multitudes from around the world who will present themselves before the Lord in worship and praise. To Jesus we say, "You are my God, and I will give thanks to You, You are my Gpd, I will extol You." And we should, as the passage closes, "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is gpod, for His steadfast love endures forever." The love showed however brief, at Palm Sunday, is the love that will be eternal in Heaven. And you and me are invited to this celebration! Say yes!
PRAYER: Loving God, for all You have done, are doing, and will continue to do, we praise and thank You. We pray Your blessing upon us as we celebrate the coming of Jesus. May we seek to invite others to join the happy procession of life; in Chrsit Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show others the joy of the Lord as being your strength.
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
