Luke 19:41–42

I will never forget my first visit to Jerusalem. A disabled friend of mine asked me if I would take him to Israel as his carer. He needed me to push his wheelchair, drive the hire car and lift him from place to place. We stayed in a hotel on the Mount of Olives and arrived there in the dark. Driving through the chaotic traffic in Jerusalem for the first time was a hair-raising experience! The next morning I pulled back the curtains and was completely overwhelmed by the sight of the golden walls of the old city, set against a deep blue sky. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life and it was so easy to imagine the time when Jesus looked over the city and wept. Indeed, not far away from the hotel there is a beautiful modern church in the shape of a teardrop, which enables modern pilgrims to reflect on that poignant moment in Jesus’ life.

Jesus longed for peace. That lay at the heart of his mission. He came to bring peace between humankind and

God. Of all places, Jerusalem, the holy city, should have been full of God’s peace but it was, then as now, a focus of division and tension. Jesus wept. You only weep when you feel something with great intensity. He desperately longed that people would enter into his peace. And as Jesus looks at our world today I believe that he still weeps, and still reaches out to us with the offer of peace. In this Holy Week of all weeks let us offer to Jesus our pains and struggles and receive his gift of peace.

Question

How would Jesus’ peace change your community?

Prayer

Loving God, thank you for sending Jesus to be our peace. Help me to welcome his gift of peace today. Amen