Waiting for the Blossom

We are all trapped in a time of waiting. The world is waiting for it to be safe once again to go outside and meet up with friends. The world is waiting, staying put for safety, knowing that we are helping others by keeping our distance. It seems like a long time to wait.

I wonder if any of you have ever tried watching a flower that’s all closed up. The flower will eventually bloom; it just takes time. Trying to pull the flower open will not help. That will only damage the flower. For some things, you just have to wait patiently. Eventually you will be rewarded by getting to see a beautiful flower opened up to the sun.

When Jesus was walking around here on earth, the Jewish people, God’s chosen ones, were waiting. They were waiting for the Messiah, a Savior who had been promised by God. They trusted that the Messiah would come, but they did not know when or where. They may not have known it, but they were waiting for Jesus.

The coming of Jesus is sometimes described as a flower blooming. Here is a song that we sometimes sing at Christmas:

“Lo, how a rose is blooming; from tender stem has sprung. From Jesse’s family coming, as men of old have sung.” 

The prophets in the Old Testament told us that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. But this birth was a long time in coming.

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus being revealed for who He really is. Like a flower opening up, the people finally saw the beauty, the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was the one! Jesus was the Savior! The people in Jerusalem knew that this was true and so they had a parade.

As Jesus came riding into town, seated on a young donkey, the people cut down palm branches and waved them overhead as a sign of welcome and celebration. They were so happy that the time of waiting was over.

This Palm Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is our Savior but we are sad that we cannot all celebrate together in church. We are waiting. We are waiting for this virus danger to pass, but we are also waiting for Jesus to come again. And while we wait for both, God wants us to be patient and above all, to be loving towards others. We show love in our words and actions, especially in our families. We are spending lots of time with our families now and we need an extra share of love and patience.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to be loving and patient while we wait. We trust that the world will open up once more like a flower blooms in the spring. We thank you for sending Jesus to be our loving Savior. Watch over all of us on this Palm Sunday. Amen.

Baaabara and the Blossom