Janet has been housebound for about nine weeks now since her back surgery and we made it a priority to get to the Palm Sunday services at church today. It’s one of my favorite services of the year, primarily because I remember entering the sanctuary as a child and waving palm branches as we walked down the center aisle. I didn’t know it back then, but this year’s palm branches are dried out, burned and the resulting ashes are used to make the sign of the cross on people’s foreheads next Ash Wednesday. Nothing goes to waste and there is great symbolism in using the branches from this year to tie us into next year.
Palm Sunday, which is what I learned to call today, is also known as Passion Sunday in some churches and Cloak Sunday in others. The Passion Sunday reference comes from the fact that today marks the beginning of the last week of the life of Jesus and all the events that lead up to the glorious triumph of Easter next Sunday. Cloak Sunday, another name for this Sunday in the church world, refers to the fact that people covered the road with their cloaks as a path for Jesus to ride on during His triumphal entry. But I’m old school – it’s Palm Sunday to me!
The sermon today in church was something that I have thought about but I have never written about. That is, Easter can creep up on us and, sometimes, it catches us by surprise. The season of Lent is a time of preparation and helps us assume the posture of remembrance and worship that lead us to the triumph over death with the resurrection of Jesus.
Lent is an emotional roller coaster. Our pastor referred to it as a time of “bright sadness.” The season itself is one of self denial and we reflect on the sadness of the 40 day season prior to the resurrection of Jesus. But the season is marked by celebrations on both sides. Mardi Gras, sometimes referred to as Fat Tuesday, is the last day of celebration before the season of Lent starts the next day, on Ash Wednesday. And, of course, the celebration of Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus that fateful Sunday morning when the stone was rolled away and the tomb was found empty. The day represents the most important day in the Christian calendar. Based on the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, we have a way to be reunited with God in heaven – with Jesus having covered the sins of all mankind.
The brightness of the season comes Easter morning. Easter colors are out, people are dressed up for church and the community in general celebrates the risen Lord. You know the phrase – Christ is Risen! And the response – Christ is Risen, indeed! What a day! And therein lies the rainbow at the end of the somber period of Lent. In fact, I wonder if we would celebrate Easter with such praise and worship if we didn’t have the counterbalance of Lent.
Our verse for tonight comes from the Gospel of John, the disciple who watched the crucifixion with Mary, the mother of Jesus, from the foot of the cross. While we generally turn to other Gospels for the Easter story, tonight we are focusing on the words of John as he recounts the arrival of the people during the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. John tells us, in John 12:12-13, “The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast 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!”
My encouragement this evening is that we should focus on Jesus arriving on the colt and the swings of emotions that mark the last week of the life of Jesus. My prayer is that we should properly honor the sacrifice that Jesus made for us as He suffered on the cross and died for all of us – ensuring an eternity with God. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…