Holy Week is nearly done, but I can’t let it go by without sharing this thought: Humanity really doesn’t change.

It doesn’t. In spite of technological, scientific, medical and other advances, people remain…people. Holy Week slaps us in the face with that fact.

Yesterday’s Darling is today’s Outcast. Jesus rode into Jerusalem in triumph, to adoring crowds. He was (and remains) the Ultimate Influencer. One week after receiving a hero’s welcome in Jerusalem, he was crucified. Really, have times changed? He was the ultimate badass that the crowd loved, turning over tables and talking trash to The Powers That Be. The crowds couldn’t get enough of him. A week later, he’d been deplatformed in the worst possible way.

Today, we can consider any number of popular figures, politicians, leaders, entertainers, commentators, etc. etc. etc. and (whether you love or hate ’em) you’ll see how swiftly the tide can turn. This should clue us that human opinions have absolutely nothing to do with facts. (Pilate said to him, ‘what is truth?’ – John 18:38 or paraphrased in Jesus Christ Superstar by Pilate: “What is truth? Is mine the same as yours?” a profound question, and one that has stayed with me for decades.) The details change, but human nature hasn’t.

And really…what is truth? Why are we so quick to proclaim someone a Savior or Messiah – and then turn on them when WE don’t think they deliver like we think they should? It’s a paradox: We think we need someone/something greater than ourselves to drag our sorry rears out of the muck…but then, we reject that someone because they’re not what we expect or think we want. We get nasty and really, really ugly.

Fortunately, there is a Love that will save us from ourselves, in spite of ourselves. Being human is a privilege, a gift, even though it is a tangled, messy, crazy, emotional journey. Never forget that Love came down at Christmas, or the incredible example of love on Good Friday. Jesus joins us on that human journey, and reminds us that in spite of our human craziness, we are worthy of love. And we are loved.