Last Sunday marked a very important day in the history of Christianity. It marks the start of Passion Week. It was the day Jesus entered Jerusalem, about a week before He was crucified. For the first time He was called king by the people there, after many years of injustice and suffering. He went there to take salvation to the people and they received it.
Being present in church, I witnessed the commitment of the youth to the works of the Lord. It was amazing, really amazing to look at the arrangement of the church, with branches of palm trees all over the floor.
Even as I write now, I still see the inside and outside image of the overcrowded GGM, with many people sitting outside trying to make their way into the house of the Lord. I see people waving palm branches, singing holy songs.
The church was occupied with desperate believers to an extent that if you threw a grain of sand in the air, it would not reach the floor: all trying to get a share of God’s gift, His words, words of truth that carry the weight of human life. It was a big day, a very big day, Palm Sunday.
Truly, it was very overwhelming listening to wonderful songs of praise of Jesus Christ, our Lord, He who is worthy to be praised. I was caught between two strong emotions of excitement and the realisation of the meaning and role of church in society. It was at this moment that I thought about what was happening in the minds of those who do not go to church or don’t pray at all.
Thinking of them made me to remember what an unknown writer once said: “Human beings forget lessons of history, because we think we are better than our ancestors. We are sinners. If we were present in that crowd we would have also shouted, ‘Crucify Him!.’”
It was a big moment for me. I was so moved by emotional songs by the praise and worship team. I had my heart pounding to the song ‘Messiah, Hosanna in the highest’. I felt the spirit descending upon me and filling me with its holiness. I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
I did not know I could be affected like that. I had to conceal my face from those who set next to me so they did not see my vulnerability. I felt a great sense of belonging to a church and the role of the church in transforming humanity.
The preaching of Pastor Phillip made me feel sorry for myself for all my wrong conduct and sins. “Take this opportunity to find Jesus as He is passing by,” he said.
Look at what happens in your yard, during early rainy seasons. You clear the grass from your yard, but as soon as His rain falls, the grass will come out again, between grass and human lives, which one is more important? Is it not human lives? Yes, it is, so if God is able to bring simple things such as grass back to life, what is going to stop Him from resurrecting human beings? Nothing is impossible with God.
Mukuve Christian