If you really wish to follow the heart of God, be merciful! Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” If you really wish to get mercy, be merciful! Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” If you really wish to do what is best for yourself, be merciful!  Proverbs 11:17, “The merciful man does himself good, but the cruel man does himself harm.” If you really wish to show wisdom, be merciful!  James 3:17, But the wisdom from above is…full of mercy.” 
Randy Smith

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#18-2: "An Odd Palm and an Odd Parable for Palm Sunday", plus Simply Spring and Holy Week

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#1 · March 29, 2015, 10:29 pm

Posted by: virginiaknowles <virginiaknowles@...>

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​Dear Hope Chest friends,
Happy Spring to you!
Today is the start of Holy Week, and I wanted to share a Palm Sunday photo post with you.  But first, a little good news and some links!
My daughter Joanna has been accepted to grad school! She will finish her bachelors degree in Interpersonal Communication at UCF in May, and then start her masters in  Marriage, Couple, & Family Therapy  there this fall.  This counseling program is one of the top ten in the nation. Way to go, Jo!
I just remembered that I have a Holy Week and Easter link page on my blog so I put its tab back at the top of one of my blogs. Here's what I've got on it, along with links to other recent posts. I'd love for you to visit some of them and let me know what you think.
Holy Week and Easter

​This Mom Grows Up​ and Virginia's Life

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​Here is the Palm Sunday post:​

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An Odd Palm and an Odd Parable for Palm Sunday

This morning, we heard the familiar Palm Sunday passage, and the children paraded around the church sanctuary waving their palm fronds.


The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”


Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”


John 12:12-15


I'll get back to that in a little bit, but first, a little digression:


I couldn't help but think of the odd palm tree I photographed on Friday in

​a ​

park a few miles from here. It is odd because it is growing within the split trunk of another tree. See?

Not only that, I think that the palm's entire root system is suspended within the other tree, not going all the way to the ground.


Can you see the light underneath the root clump?



Here is the normal looking solid trunk base of the host tree.


Another hollowed tree nearby reminds me of both (1) the skull shaped rock (Golgotha) where Jesus is thought to have been crucified and (2) a dark tomb carved into rock, as during Bible times.

Is this Golgotha?

"When they came to
the place called the Skull,
they crucified him there,
along with the criminals—
one on his right,
the other on his left."
Luke 23:33


Image result for biblical tomb cave
A cave tomb from Bible times


On a brighter note, representing the Resurrection for my arboreal parable, is a lovely spring-blooming tabebuia tree growing just across the railroad tracks. (See my post Tabebuia, The Brilliant Yellow Flowering Tree of Spring.)

 

... and an overlapping loquat tree representing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who came after Jesus ascended to heaven.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
gentleness and self-control."
Galatians 5:22-23a

Yes, I am quite aware of how odd this blog post is, how odd the palm tree wedged into the other tree. But everything about Holy Week itself is odd.



Christ of St. John of the Cross

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by Salvatore Dali, 1951



The King of the Universe came to Jerusalem, not in conquest, but in compassion. He rode on a humble donkey rather than a war horse. He is the King of Peace, gentle (except to the money changers, whose tables he overturned in the temple courts), servant-hearted (washing the smelly feet of his disciples), willing to sacrifice himself to save sinners, even begging his Father to forgive those who are crucifying him. 

Throne Room of Grace
by Virginia Quarrier,

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1984

Then there is the matter of the torn temple veil, the earthquake, and the resurrection of many holy saints at the hour of his death. 

And his own resurrection on the third day? Incredible, yet true!









What is at all normal about any of that? Yet that is the way he works.

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But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27

This brings great hope to me. I often feel like the odd woman out. I don't fit so many religious paradigms, yet God still uses me.

That's enough from me for now. Excuse me while I go think up some other odd thoughts. I'll be back.

Virginia

​ (Quarrier)​

Knowles

http://www.WatchTheShepherd.blogspot.com


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