A Reflection on Palm Sunday

This Palm Sunday, our Jewish siblings celebrate Purim and commemorate Esther whose courage staved off the intended genocide of her people. Modern Purim celebrations often include some boisterous tableaus and parodies; especially when mentioning the royal official Haman, the architect of the genocide. At the very name of Haman, audiences participate in the Purim recitation of the story by hissing, booing and even tossing in a  derisive “ptoo”.

Is it possible that the procession into Jerusalem at Passover where Jesus was heralded as messiah and king strikes similar notes of parody—outlandish defiance even?  Imagine the rag tag improv act complete with scavenged fronds and foliage and cloaks tossed on the ground juxtaposed against the empire’s carefully orchestrated parades and related public spectacles designed to control and coerce people into compliance.  We shouldn’t be all that surprised that a clash is sure to follow.

The writers of the devotional series developed by Lutherans Connect offer some thoughts about the stakes involved in Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem.

“On a day that in some church settings also finds the Passion being read, it might be easier to connect the dots between the Hosannas and the cries to crucify Jesus, if we consider the jeering that was likely also present. The Galileans were never very welcome in Jerusalem, let alone those who were presenting themselves as a Galilean ‘king!’” from Lutherans Connect March 18.

This Holy Week we traverse the trail between those two “dots”; the Hosanna’s and the demands for Roman justice to silence Jesus and all he stands and lives for.

Worship Guide