Devotion - Tuesday of Holy Week

Yesterday I wrote of how the crowd turned against Jesus - today I
wanted to acknowledge that the religious leaders did the same.

It is too simple a thing for us to claim that these leaders were
ill-informed or represented an old, out-dated covenant. The truth is
that Jesus represents a threat to any who would try to make of the
faith experience a religious system or structure.

Don't mishear me. I am a HUGE fan of Church and churches. What I
oppose, and those who opposed Jesus, were those more concerned with
preserving the structures than with providing a place where faith
journeys could occur.

The leaders opposed Jesus because Jesus was reminding people that God
came to establish a relationship with us, not merely give us a set of
rules or obligations. The leaders knew that Jesus was a threat to
their way of organizing and to involving the children of God.

Jesus is a disruption to the structures preferred by those who want
keep us in line and who want to fall in line.

The religious leaders of our day (of which I am in constant danger of
becoming one) need to continually be on guard to work to advance the
message of Jesus rather than build cathedrals to ourselves.

Every follower needs to make sure they are following Jesus, and not
merely attracted to one of those impressive cathedrals.