Dear Friends in Christ,

     A centurion was a Roman soldier who commanded other soldiers and was accountable to the Roman Governor of a province and to Caesar. Experienced in battle, a centurion had seen it all. And when he had entered the city of Rome in times of victory over an enemy, he was accustomed to seeing a huge, cheering crowd, and there was plenty of "pomp and circumstance" surrounding their victory. Usually a long line of chained enemy captives trailed along behind, destined to become slaves. At the head of the procession, the leader was decked out in all his finery. It was always a thrilling and exciting event for him.

     On this occasion, a huge crowd of several hundred thousand Jews had gathered in and around Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Stationed there now, the centurion was charged with keeping order among the Jews, as they were prone to periodic revolt. A commotion was taking place outside the city walls. When it became apparent that something unusual was going on, the centurion would have gone to check it out. It sounded like the kind of cheering that accompanied a victorious return of Caesar!

     When he arrived outside the city gate, however, the sight that met him confused him. A huge crowd of ordinary people were making their way into the city, shouting "Hosanna to the King" and waving palm branches high over their heads in celebration. So he naturally was looking for a king in their midst. All he could see was a man riding on the back of a small donkey, with someone's garment spread across its back in place of a saddle. "No victorious King here," he might have murmured under his breath as he turned to re-enter the city.

     These Jews were strange people, he might have thought, with such silly notions about this man being a King, and when he looked back over his shoulder to survey the crowd, he noticed there were no dignitaries there, no finery, streaming banners or gold standards declaring the might of a King. Just palm branches in hand, and dusty clothes laying on the ground for the little donkey to walk across. He went back into the city, deciding that whatever that parade was about, it didn't pose much of a problem for Roman might. However, he'd need to stay vigilant so this joyful parade might not turn into some kind of riot. So as he re-entered the city, he charged the soldiers he commanded to keep a watchful eye on the crowd and to notify him if it seemed they were getting out of hand. Little did he suspect that by three o'clock in the afternoon on Friday of that week, he would find himself standing at the foot of a cross to which this "King" had been nailed and declare, "Surely, this was the Son of God."

     Easter — the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, and the declaration that "all who believe should not perish but have life everlasting!" Easter — a celebration of a kingdom that has outlasted the Roman Empire and will outlast any empire that graces the face of the earth. The Kingdom of God is eternal, and because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we live with an eternal hope in our hearts — that because he lives, we too shall live forever with him. May God bless you with the joy of Easter throughout this month.

Yours in the service of Christ and the Church,

Bob

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