Today we celebrate Palm Sunday – the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey or a small horse depending on which translation and which Gospel you read. Palm Sunday may seem a little odd in this season of Lent. During Lent, we contemplate our lives – what we have not been doing or what we could do better. And here, on this Sunday we join in the joyous celebration of the arrival of Jesus!
We almost stop the solemnity of Lent to enjoy the triumphal entry as Jesus comes into Jerusalem with one thing in mind—to die for you and for me! We can almost hear the people as they shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David which is coming! Hosanna in the heaven!” (Mark 11:9b-10 REB) We can almost put ourselves there with the very large crowd of people who have lined the streets. We can hear the shouts and we see the palm branches and cloaks laid on the road in honor of the coming king. However, we can clearly see from this passage that the people were looking for David’s kingdom to return. Remember David—the warrior king? The people who lined the road that day were suffering under Roman rule and Roman oppression. They hailed Jesus as the conquering hero from the line of David who was going to defeat Rome and establish once again the great dynasty David had begun. But that didn’t happen. In the next couple of days, Jesus does not bring down Roman rule. It will be just four short days until this same crowd changes their shouts! Instead of shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” they now will shout out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Oh my how quickly things can change when we don’t get what we want! As this journey through the Lenten season continues, let us not become a part of the crowd shouting “Crucify him!” Rather let us be the ones who shout, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Amen.
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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