Easter Week Message: My Palm Sunday Walk With the Lord
We have arrived at the holiest of weeks, the week of Jesus’ Passion and death. We have been this route many times. We have read the different passion accounts and know exactly what happened. This is what spiritual reading is: reading the text. It’s like taking a class from someone who wrote the book and I’m a student, but for us, the book is about Jesus’ last days. We’ve read these accounts which conjured up all sorts of emotions. We have spent time reflecting and meditating to better understand Christ and what it means to follow Him. We’ve learned and been convinced of God’s total love. Now meditation is primarily a matter of the heart more than the intellect. I’m right there at the scene, bringing all my emotions and feelings. It’s much more akin to taking a leisurely walk with Christ, your friend. Can we do just that this week?
Matthew is our guide today. He starts out Passion week with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, found in the 21st chapter. Much more happens that week in Matthew: Jesus teaches, gives the Great Commandment, condemns the Scribes and Pharisees, predicts the destruction of the Temple, is anointed at Bethany and then on to the Passover meal.
So we start our walk as Jesus makes His first "grand" entry into the city of His death. He instructs the disciples to bring Him an ass with a colt tethered to her and to place their cloaks on them for His entry. In ancient times, kings in the Middle East would frequently ride on donkeys which were respected animals at that time. In times of war the king would ride on a horse, but not in times of peace. Jesus’ gesture shows convincingly that He has come to bring peace, God’s peace. The crowd is hoping ... much like we are hoping for an end to the coronavirus. They're hoping that Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies. They need this Messiah to destroy Roman authority and be their King.
And Jesus rides into the city. This image is not unprecedented. In 2 Kings 9:13, Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, receives the customary announcement of a king with the spreading of cloaks upon the ground before him. Here a very large crowd assembles for Jesus, spreading their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The palm branch is a Jewish symbol of triumph and victory (Leviticus 23:40, Revelation 7:9). And we come and watch and join the crowd. They are shouting, "Hosanna," an Aramaic word meaning "saved, rescue, savior." Psalm 118:24-26 highlights this: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. Lord, grant salvation! Lord, grant good fortune! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
“And when He entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds replied, ‘This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.’” (Matthew 21:10-11.) Instead, Jesus humbly enters Jerusalem to give His life on a cross, saving mankind from sin and death and letting us know of God’s total love. The Passion narrative is the climax and the most important part of the Gospels because it shows Jesus putting into practice what He constantly preached. The story we take part in today has only its deepest meaning if it reaches down deep into our own lives. It is inconsequential if we do not see its challenges. Specifically, the passion of Jesus calls us to remember and care for the "passion and death" which is all around us, most especially in the coronavirus. We are called to look at those who are hurting, those who are suffering, those who are oppressed and those who suffer injustice. We are called to remember that each day a specific person is among many who are reaching out their needy hands and hearts. Am I listening? Do I care? Am I touched? Am I calloused?
So I reflect on:
Matthew is our guide today. He starts out Passion week with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, found in the 21st chapter. Much more happens that week in Matthew: Jesus teaches, gives the Great Commandment, condemns the Scribes and Pharisees, predicts the destruction of the Temple, is anointed at Bethany and then on to the Passover meal.
So we start our walk as Jesus makes His first "grand" entry into the city of His death. He instructs the disciples to bring Him an ass with a colt tethered to her and to place their cloaks on them for His entry. In ancient times, kings in the Middle East would frequently ride on donkeys which were respected animals at that time. In times of war the king would ride on a horse, but not in times of peace. Jesus’ gesture shows convincingly that He has come to bring peace, God’s peace. The crowd is hoping ... much like we are hoping for an end to the coronavirus. They're hoping that Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies. They need this Messiah to destroy Roman authority and be their King.
And Jesus rides into the city. This image is not unprecedented. In 2 Kings 9:13, Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, receives the customary announcement of a king with the spreading of cloaks upon the ground before him. Here a very large crowd assembles for Jesus, spreading their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The palm branch is a Jewish symbol of triumph and victory (Leviticus 23:40, Revelation 7:9). And we come and watch and join the crowd. They are shouting, "Hosanna," an Aramaic word meaning "saved, rescue, savior." Psalm 118:24-26 highlights this: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. Lord, grant salvation! Lord, grant good fortune! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
“And when He entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds replied, ‘This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.’” (Matthew 21:10-11.) Instead, Jesus humbly enters Jerusalem to give His life on a cross, saving mankind from sin and death and letting us know of God’s total love. The Passion narrative is the climax and the most important part of the Gospels because it shows Jesus putting into practice what He constantly preached. The story we take part in today has only its deepest meaning if it reaches down deep into our own lives. It is inconsequential if we do not see its challenges. Specifically, the passion of Jesus calls us to remember and care for the "passion and death" which is all around us, most especially in the coronavirus. We are called to look at those who are hurting, those who are suffering, those who are oppressed and those who suffer injustice. We are called to remember that each day a specific person is among many who are reaching out their needy hands and hearts. Am I listening? Do I care? Am I touched? Am I calloused?
So I reflect on:
- Am I able to recognize and reset the lies I have believed about myself? What are those lies? Do I see myself as Jesus sees me?
- How have I experienced Jesus’ love and healing in my life?
- Am I aware that Jesus sees the goodness and beauty deep within my heart? That He believes in me and never gives up on me?
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