Entry

Palm Sunday

There is another way to see Palm Sunday—it is a gift of grace offered to us every morning when we awaken. 

Just as Christ paraded into Jerusalem to meet his glory, so he meets us each day, anew and fresh. The challenge for us, of course, is the same as it was for those first crowds—to welcome him on his own terms. 

What are those terms?

During his ministry, Jesus revealed the terms of his Lordship clearly, directly, and experientially. He preached, taught, and also touched the people he met, all revealing different aspects of how God seeks our redemption, presence, and love. 

The first thing to note is Christ’s complete welcome. Christ turned no one away, but rather welcomed all into his presence, even his most ardent critics (no Pharisee was ever told to leave). For some, this welcome was astoundingly good news—lepers welcomed back into human fellowship; women met with dignity and respect; tax collectors met with acceptance; Samaritans told no division separated them from the love of God—on it went, one lost lamb recovered again and again. For others, this welcome came as a surprise—Nicodemus welcomed under the cover of darkness without reservation; a penitent thief welcomed into grace even as he breathed his last—Jesus never let go of anyone. And for still others, this welcome brought its call to rethink the world and who is in it—Simon the Zealot challenged to welcome Matthew the publican, for instance. Jesus meets us every day with the same word of welcome, but how do we receive it? Where on this spectrum do we find ourselves?

The second thing is to note that Jesus always puts God center in his encounters. All other agendas are negated. All other issues are reoriented by God. No matter who is met, the issue is to bring them into an effective encounter with God. God will offer what grace is necessary for that moment. God will lead into what needs to be said or done. Scroll back through those encounters listed above—read the stories—do you see how God takes center place? Lepers healed so they can be in community again. Women empowered to be the children of God they are. Tax collectors realizing that God’s grace is a way to true wealth. Samaritans realize they are indeed beloved children of promise. And on we run through each of those encounters—because God is center; life, love, and liberation follow. Human beings become exactly what they were created to be.

The third thing to note is that Christ’s triumphal entry into our day comes with a call. As Jesus healed someone, touched someone, taught someone, or walked with someone, there always came a subsequent call to go and do likewise. We all know how this dynamic worked as Jesus gathered the Twelve, but are we as familiar with how it worked in other circumstances? Look at a few examples—Jesus welcomed a Samaritan woman at the well, and she left to tell her whole village about this possible welcome for them; Jesus healed ten lepers and told all of them to proclaim what happened to their priests; as the number of adherents swelled around Jesus, he sent them out to embody his ministry in the world (the Mission of the Seventy)—on flow the examples—to meet Christ is to be called; to be called is to identify a place to serve, a way to serve, and people to serve; and as we serve, we fully realize every promise found in the presence of Christ. We suddenly realize one of the inescapable truths of Jesus—we are not left to simply talk about Jesus, but we are to become Jesus for the world in which we live.

Now—there is a fourth lesson to be gleaned, and it comes from the crowd instead of Jesus—how did they respond? Yes, at first, all is joy bordering on hysteria. Clothes get ripped off and thrown in the road before Jesus. Shouts of exuberant joy, bordering on revolution fill the air (the undertone to that simple word hosanna). Trees get pruned to find flags and banners to announce the victorious redeemer. It is one wild party! But, depending on which Gospel you read, not even an hour passes after Jesus gets to Jerusalem before the tone changes. It is like a light switch thrown. Joy turns to something else, something other. Why? Because the crowd forgot all about the most important lesson—Jesus can only be truly met on his terms, not ours. Our culture is driven by consumerism and self-focus—what do I get out of this? That appears again and again in our religious circles. And it leads into the week to come—a week where today’s joy becomes something else altogether on a rocky dome just outside town on Friday. Jesus disappoints the crowd. Ironically, the disappointment stems from the three previous lessons of the triumphal entry—if I have to welcome everybody, then I can no longer see everybody as my own conventional wisdom tells me I can; if I have to place God first, that means my wants and wishes get precluded; and if I have to work to realize all these promises, then the temptation rises to find something else to do. The crowd turns. 

Ponder that. Consider it deeply and fully. Rather than hearing it as rain on the parade, hear it instead as a break in the clouds. Jesus offers grace upon grace. Jesus offers life lived more fully than we could imagine. Jesus offers us real joy, a joy that nothing in all of life can dim or fade. Jesus offers us meaning nothing can diminish. Jesus offers us God! Accept the offer. Take it as it comes. Let go all else and claim Jesus.