Praying Palm Sunday
It is the supreme mystery of our Christian faith we are about to witness this week. Make no mistake about it. The events of Holy Week and Easter are not merely annual reenactments of the tragic events of the life of an important historical personage. This is spiritual mystery on its deepest and most cosmic scale. – Br. Eldridge Pendleton, SSJE (1940-2015)
On Palm Sunday, we begin the journey to Calvary that we will live out across the next week. We are invited to join the crowd in shouting "Hosanna" and "Crucify." And we are invited to accompany our Lord in the dramatic events of his final days.
How will you journey alongside Jesus this week?
Audio:
The Passion According to Matthew
Sermons:
"Lovely Be" – Br. Luke Ditewig
On Palm Sunday, Br. Luke Ditewig sings a song of love unknown, our Savior’s love—to you, to me.
"Exceeding Expectations" – Br. Jim Woodrum
The story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem invites us to investigate our own expectations as a way of drawing into a deeper understanding of God.
"Why?" – Br. David Vyrhof
Why must God’s Servant enter into the darkest rhythms of the human condition? Perhaps it’s the only way they can be challenged and undone, once and for all.
"Singing Hosanna, Screaming Crucify" – Br. James Koester
Palm Sunday is a chance to discover once more all that is within us, both light and dark, both good and evil.
"Steal Away" – Br. Tom Shaw
Letting the power of Jesus' humility, self-sacrifice, and surrender soak into us during Holy Week gives us the power to stand on the edge of glory every day.
"The Weight of the Cross" – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
On Palm Sunday, we embrace both the weight of the cross and the wealth of its love.
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Brother Luke’s telling of the hymn “that we might lovely be” strikes a note. My journey this week with Christ is to try to understand how much Jesus loves us and how we are to pass that love on even to people we don’t like or who don’t like us. I think as a human being I and many others find this hardest to do. I pray that our Lord will melt my heart and enable me to feel a real feeling of love for all his people.
What a beautiful albeit sad message – life is full of ebbs and flows, like the sea.
My journey this week is to let myself feel the sadness in my life and in this story, without pushing it away with busy-ness, even the important work of preparing for and leading worship.
My journey with Jesus starts on this Palm Sunday, with great expectations and joy. The mood shifts rapidly, and the growing shadows of the days to come rapidly darken. I have to walk this journey to truly celebrate Easter.
Amen.