"Not only our ancestors alone did the Holy One redeem, but us as well, along with them, as it is written: "And God freed us from Egypt... Therefore, let us rejoice at the wonder of our deliverance: from bondage to freedom, from agony to joy, from mourning to festivity, from darkness to light, from servitude to redemption."  The Passover Haggadah

    As I listen to Jesus in the twelfth chapter of John, I hear a certain anguish in his voice.  Perhaps it is just me, yet I hear a desperation, perhaps an exasperation: God is one who yearns to free us, yearns to lead us to a place of light and lightness, to a place of interior and exterior festivity and celebration.  Jesus' anguish may come from seeing how fear holds back the celebration.  "Many even of the authorities believed in Jesus, yet for fear they did not confess it."

    Freedom?  light?  they sound great, but the consequence from the Temple authorities is too much to risk.  What might others do if I follow you Jesus; besides, last time I looked, there were lots of Romans still around.

    What would he hear today?  Liberation from my fears?  My gosh I would love that, but there are certain persons who may not approve and I desperately want them in my life.  Freedom from habits that can even bring me shame?  I don't see and can't imagine anything that could take their place.  Jesus yearns for their  freedom and they clutch their fears.

    What might it cost me to keep walking with Jesus this week?  What might I see? Who might see me?  What fears might rear their head?  What from the past?  What may I be clutching?

       "God freed us from Egypt...let us rejoice at the wonder of our deliverance..."  I am thinking about this time next year; from what might I be delivered now that would be the cause for rejoicing next year?

    Let us keep walking into Jerusalem.

Blessed Tuesday of Holy Week,

Todd Donatelli