For reasons that escape me, Palm Sunday was my confirmation day. Maybe it was yours too. The way it was explained to my thirteen-year-old self was that it led to my first Communion on Maundy Thursday. Again, where is the Biblical basis for that? The church has moved away from that practice of associating Palm Sunday with confirmation and Maundy Thursday for first Communion. Palm Sunday is the most dramatic worship of the church year, unless Easter Vigil is observed. But it should not be about emotional manipulation – “Hosannas” to horror. Actually, that is exactly what happens! If we got emotional yesterday, that was probably a good thing. It is rightly named Passion Sunday. For the only time in his earthly life, Jesus relinquishes control. He allows these horrid events to happen to him. He goes from being exalted to being humiliated, all in the span of just a few days. That makes him so relatable to us! This week we will actively wait, bearing witness to the glory embedded in the horror and shame. The Passion is ongoing in the human litany of suffering and pain. We participated yesterday, from waving little palm crosses to listening to the lengthy narrative account. Our lives still go on, even this week. We will walk our dogs, play cards, do pool therapy, plan visits to the kids and grands. Always bear in mind what we proclaim: Christ crucified. This is the reality that transcends the “moral freak show” going on now. This is the truth we speak.

Israel was not ready for Jesus. They would have had him ride into Jerusalem on a white steed to crush Caesar’s regime. The Old Testament prophecy eluded them when it said that he would come on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus came anyway, to face the music. The bigger question for us: are we ready? Is the world? The U.S.A.? It’s not about charts, graphs and calculations; nor is it about rapture theory. It is about our hearts. It is about God’s Word stirring in our souls. Mostly it is about the unconditional love that bled, broke, and hung. May you be blessed as you prepare to encounter Christ betrayed, denied, and crucified. Don’t skip ahead to the next chapter just yet.

Pastor Art