Today is Palm Sunday.It is also the
beginning of Holy Week which is a sacred time for Christians.I mention this because if you have only
attended church on Sundays, then you might have missed the events of Holy
Week.You might only have seen Palm
Sunday and then Easter.And if that is
your experience of church, then, unfortunately, you have missed what
Christianity is all about.You have
missed what it means to follow Jesus.As
Christians, we cannot get to Easter without going through the cross.
We have been headed towards the cross over the past several weeks of
Lent.And the action is speeding up as
we reach the climax of our journey. All along our journey, Jesus has
accumulated enemies.They continue to
plot against him, and Jesus knows this; even as he walks into the belly of the
beast at Jerusalem.Holy Week starts
with his triumphal entry.But we know
that within the week, the cries will change from Hosanna, Hosanna to Crucify
Him, Crucify Him; and he will be put to death.
As Jesus travels into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the crowds shout
out “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” and “Peace and
glory in the highest heaven.” This is a big moment in the Jesus journey, and
those who are missing out on its significance (namely, the religious leaders
who crave power and prestige) want it stopped. For them, the proclamation that
Jesus is Lord is a threat.
The donkey was but a small symbol of the huge freight train rolling into
Jerusalem, and pointed towards the existing religious establishment.Previously Jesus had warned his antagonists,
the Pharisees and the scribes, that nothing could stop this.He reminded them that the very stones would
cry out if the people shouting Hosanna were silenced! He was saying to them
that there was nothing any mortal person could do to stop the truth of God’s
Kingdom or King. And as Easter people, we know that not even death could stop
what God was doing.
So, here we are on this Palm Sunday commemoration, shouting and singing the
same songs sung on that day.Jesus was
right, even 2000 years later; nothing has stopped God’s redemptive work in
creation.
And since we can’t ultimately stop the work of God, why not join in?And what does joining in look like?And how do we make joining in be more than
lip service.
It is easy to be a fair weather Christian.One who shouts Hosanna on Sunday and Crucify Him on Friday?It’s not always easy to be a devoted disciple.It’s not always easy to demonstrate the
radical commitment that we see from Jesus when he is tempted in the wilderness,
or when he makes his way to Jerusalem and to his death.
Joining in God’s redemptive work goes beyond words. We don’t just speak it,
we do it.It spills out of our lives. It
spills out of us into places like hospitals and nursing homes where we visit
those who are ill or infirm.It spills
out to Mary’s Place, a shelter for abused women that we support.It spills out to the feeding program for the
homeless at Trinity Church.
We are not inanimate objects like the rocks. We are living breathing
instruments of God’s grace and purposes with real choice.When we proclaim Jesus as King, we use the
ancient words that echo the knowledge that God has not forgotten us. God has
sent the anointed one for a special purpose.To show us God’s redemptive and unending love, embodied in Jesus Christ.
Our radical commitment is more than lip service. It is not about our power
or fame. It is about following the Messiah who brings about the eternal Kingdom
in and through all who follow in the Jesus journey. Jesus did journey from Palm
Sunday to Easter, but to do it, he had to go through Holy Week.
Holy Week is God’s week and
it is also our week. We can join in.Holy
Week is the ultimate experience of being of good courage, holding fast to that
which is good, and being to others as Christ has been to us.
Holy Week is the time when Jesus has a last supper with his friends, knowing
they would deny him and betray him. A time when he holds fast to his faith and
conviction even during humiliation as a crown of thorns is placed on his head.
A time when even at death, he prays for those who put him on the cross.
We should not forget the moments of doubt and agony that Jesus experienced
during that week. As he rode the donkey in the parade on Palm Sunday, he wept
over Jerusalem, and in the Garden of Gethsemane, he wept for himself as his
sweat fell like great drops of blood.What was facing Jesus was both what he wanted and what he didn’t want.
Just like us, he wanted the outcome. Just like us, he didn’t want the process.
Holy Week is God’s week and
it is also our week. Holy Week is the ultimate experience of being of good
courage, holding fast to that which is good, and being to others as Christ has
been to us.
Jesus had prepared well for Holy Week.He had the power of trust and concentration.He relied on the faithfulness of God to work
for good in all things for him and with him. He could have turned the donkey
around. And if he had done that, he would have relieved his anxiety and wouldn’t
have had to sweat blood in the Garden. Instead, he chose differently. And he saw it through to the end.He saw it through to his death on the
cross.We are asked to pick up his cross
and to take it into the world.
Jesus made his decision to
ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, knowing what lay ahead.It was in his riding on, and not turning
back, that he made the day of resurrection possible. He was given Easter and
eternal glory by God. He was given Easter. And because of that, we are given
Easter. And now, as we ride with Jesus into another Holy Week, I pray that we can
also be of good courage; that we can also hold fast to that which is good, that
we will be to others as Christ has been to us.
Queen Anne 
