Palm Sunday brings together a mix of symbols and prophecy, all to declare one truth; that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Kings.
The people affirm that this is so by waving palm leaves and crying out “Hosanna”, which means “Save us”. They know that their Messiah has come.
But they still don’t know what that means. Which is why, before the week is out, some of those same people will have abandoned Jesus. Some of them will have gone from shouting “Save us” to shouting “Crucify him”.
What does Palm Sunday mean for us? It certainly means a time of celebration, but it is also a time to ask what it is we want and expect when we cry out “Hosanna” “Save us”.
Are we like those disciples from almost 2000 years ago, who cried out for a Messiah who would fulfill their hopes and desires? Are we ready to sing a song of praise, but only as long as Jesus is doing what we want? Will we find that we have declared that Jesus is Lord on Sunday only to have denied him by Thursday?
Palm Sunday is a time to celebrate and a time to contemplate. To declare that Jesus is Savior, but that also means Jesus is Lord. That he will define what Messiah means and he will be the Way for us to follow.
Even if that means we follow him to a cross. Because that’s where we’re headed. For some of Jesus’ disciples, that meant a literal cross. Others were killed in other ways, but also for following him. We might not face death, but we are called to face sacrifice, to embrace it as what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Are we willing not only to declare our praises when it’s convenient, but to live out his love and sacrifice when it brings us trouble, and trial, and death? Because that is what we are called to do. That is who we are called to be.
Let us not be those who would cry “Hosanna” one minute and crucify him the next. Let us not abandon him in the face of trouble. And let us remember the truth that the apostles would soon discover, that even when we do abandon him, he has not abandoned us.
2 comments:
As always, I appreciate your poignant thoughts on the life Christ calls us to.
I had the title of your post, particularly the "crucify Him" part, in my thoughts as I began teaching The Grapes of Wrath this week, and it enriched my experience with the novel. Steinbeck, as most other Modern writers, rejected organized religion as a way to establish meaning in the modern world. In the novel, Jim Casy, the preacher who would stir women into a religious frenzy one moment and sleep with them the next, personifies the hypocrisy and superficiality Steinbeck saw in organized religion and demonstrates its inadequacy to offer purpose to modern people. But Casy also becomes a mouthpiece for Steinbeck, explaining to Tom Joad that he came to believe that the Holy Spirit was really just the human spirit--a need for connection and love between people. For Steinbeck, those things, not a set of rules or a "pie in the sky" doctrine, speak to the needs of people as they scrape and struggle their way through the world.
And Steinbeck is mostly right. His indictment against organized religion (particularly Christianity) in his time is equally as fitting in our time. Connecting with people through love and compassion is at the heart of Christ's call, yet for Steinbeck there was a dearth of those qualities from Christianity as there was rain from the Dust Bowl. Sadly, I don't know that much has changed about Christianity in our country since Steinbeck's time. If we aren't about sacrificing ourselves in loving, compassionate ways for the people we encounter, then we're not about following Christ. A judgmental, hypocritical, "do not"-driven faith has nothing to offer to the world, nor to us who live it, whereas Christ offers us everything.
thank you.
the shifts i cover at work changed, and i've had to cover wednesday night shifts since our intial introduction. honestly, it makes my heart sad a bit. i have much hope, perhaps in the coming weeks i will be able to come on wednesday nights.
have you and rachel been able to connect with The Well folks in Buda?
be well.
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