Palm Sunday Meditation
Matthew 21:1-11
Journeying into Jerusalem
“Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!” What a joyous and celebratory scene this is. The crowds have heard that Jesus, a King is coming! He rides humbly on a donkey and the people wave palm branches and create a pathway into the city. They are full of hope for this coming king, but what kind of King is he?
The people are hoping that Jesus will be the one to liberate them from Roman oppression, but little do they know that Jesus has come to do something much greater. The people do not understand, and in just a few short days this same crowd will be the ones shouting, “Crucify! Crucify!”
I like to think that I am always the one to wave the palm branches and shout praises, but I know that is not always true. There are moments—more than I would like to admit—when I am more like the crowd shouting for crucifixion. I do not always see, I do not always understand what Jesus is doing, and sometimes I am in the way, shouting my condemnations.
On Palm Sunday I must reflect on the times when I am giving praise to Jesus, and when my actions attempt to condemn Jesus. And all the more, I must give thanks for God’s faithfulness. Even as I stand in the crowd and shout, “Crucify!”, Jesus is still going to the cross for me. Even when I turn away, Jesus still willingly dies on the cross. This is depth of God’s love. God’s love for me, for you, for the neighbor, for all of us. Thanks be to God. Amen.