Celebration!

SUN., APR. 12, 1992, 5:48 AM
FARM, STUDY

This is the “morning after” a fine celebration! of the 40 year marriage of you and Lenore. The beauty of this “party” was in its being organized and “thrown” by your four sons, their wives, and families. The weather was mild, the partiers were a diverse group, and you and Lenore were properly receptive to the congratulations offered.

Naturally I would have preferred more overt recognition and admission of My place in your life together. The food was wonderful, but it would have been even better if it had been blessed… in the Hawaiian way you often employ. You had an opportunity for a spiritual as well as a human response to the toast offered to you, and you missed that chance to witness. The most positive reaction is that you just didn’t consider that possibility… it wasn’t that you thought about it and backed away from what you now know you could have said.

Know that your salvation is not at risk. You are just not as spiritually aware as I would like you to be. My critique of your response is meant to make you more aware of a great opportunity missed and of My desires for your “presence” in this earth life. There will be other occasions when some affirmation of relationship with Me and My role in your married life will be possible. I hope that this chastisement will help to make such opportunities more obvious. Your idea of writing a letter of thanks to all who gave gifts or sent cards or letters is a good one (was it yours alone?), and will be an opportunity to atone for this short-coming yesterday.

Today is a day of celebration! in the Christian year. This is remembrance of My entrance into Jerusalem, as Jesus, which became a spontaneous celebration by the “ordinary people.” Somehow I was too controversial for the rabbis and other leaders of Jewish religious life. My “close” relationship with the Almighty Father God was too threatening to those who were more comfortable with God as an awesome “outsider.” It was “too much” to have God as a living person in their midst. The “people” responded to Me and offered their Hosannas with positive feeling. But when their “spiritual leaders” opposed Me the celebration abated, and some even reversed their allegiance and shouted “Crucify him,” even a few days later.

I am not saying that you are in the tradition of celebrating in a shallow manner, but you can see that there is some connection. Oh, you might wonder why the charisma I displayed on this Palm Sunday, that sparked the celebration, could not be sustained in the next days. Was it just My acceptance of the need to give Myself for many obviously undeserving folk that changed My “image”? Was I not trying to hold the allegiance of the people? Was I even speaking in ways that inflamed the leaders and confused the people?

This is a strange week of remembrance for you present-day Christians. This is the day of celebration! Then there are three days (your teaching days) that the Scriptures describe in minimal ways. Thursday is the remembrance of joyful but ominous Last Supper with My disciples, with bread and wine and the washing of feet… followed by betrayal, arrest, a night-time or early morning trial, and the quick crucifixion, with the people shouting down the offer of forgiveness for Me.