The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12)
Today has always been one of my favorite Sundays of the year.
I love the enthusiasm, the air of celebration, the sense of spontaneity I love the idea of Jesus riding into the city in an act of simple, beautiful, eloquent subversion. And I am drawn to the unspoken dark undertone of the knowledge of the coming of The Last Supper, Good Friday, and the crisis of The Cross.
All the emotion of Holy Week seems to lie just beneath the surface of Palm Sunday’s promise. And that is especially true at my church, because today’s worship services are both led by our chancel choir, telling the story of The Passion through music and word.
If Lent is an extended special discipline, designed to prepare ourselves for a more deliberate spiritual journey, then Holy Week is potentially a microcosm of those 40-days, a spiritual training mini-camp if you will.
In other words, this coming week offers each one of us a unique opportunity for profound spiritual growth.
I’ll see you in church! But stay tuned to this space, we’ll walk through this week together, day by day.
Peace, blessings, and celebration! – DEREK