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Enter the Story: Palm Sunday
Annually the church the world over traces Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into the city of Jerusalem. A donkey and colt symbolize Jesus’ rule, humble and lowly. Nothing is shaped as expected, yet everything is as needed. To enter the scene, we’ll use many senses.
Listen! The braying of humble animals mixes sweetly with boisterous shouts of praise: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt. 21:9).
Smell! People young and old, doves and goats, spices and spring blooms. The crowd is filled with the scents of fishing nets and barns, of vineyards and hostels.
Open-eyed, look around! See colorful cloaks and branches spread on the ground, creating a pathway for the donkey and its rider. See children hoisted above their elders, each straining to catch sight of Jesus, on whom all their hopes are pinned for a better life and a lovelier world.
This Holy Week, we are invited to enter into the story with senses newly awakened. As you listen to the gospel today, what do you hear that you’ve never heard before? What parts of the narrative come to life that in earlier years you may have missed? Today as you wave a palm and perhaps join in a procession, can you imagine yourself in the crowd that surrounded Jesus?
Are you asking anything of the people beside you? Do you know the dreams of freedom dear to them? Have you shared your hopes for a better world rooted in Jesus’ way of humility? Are you willing to risk making something of a scene today, in ways that might attract some attention, prompting neighbors to echo the question in Jerusalem so long ago when “the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’” (Matt. 21:10). Then, in words and actions may we all respond that the one at our center is “the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matt. 11:11).
sundaysandseasons.com. Used by Permission
Listen! The braying of humble animals mixes sweetly with boisterous shouts of praise: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt. 21:9).
Smell! People young and old, doves and goats, spices and spring blooms. The crowd is filled with the scents of fishing nets and barns, of vineyards and hostels.
Open-eyed, look around! See colorful cloaks and branches spread on the ground, creating a pathway for the donkey and its rider. See children hoisted above their elders, each straining to catch sight of Jesus, on whom all their hopes are pinned for a better life and a lovelier world.
This Holy Week, we are invited to enter into the story with senses newly awakened. As you listen to the gospel today, what do you hear that you’ve never heard before? What parts of the narrative come to life that in earlier years you may have missed? Today as you wave a palm and perhaps join in a procession, can you imagine yourself in the crowd that surrounded Jesus?
Are you asking anything of the people beside you? Do you know the dreams of freedom dear to them? Have you shared your hopes for a better world rooted in Jesus’ way of humility? Are you willing to risk making something of a scene today, in ways that might attract some attention, prompting neighbors to echo the question in Jerusalem so long ago when “the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’” (Matt. 21:10). Then, in words and actions may we all respond that the one at our center is “the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matt. 11:11).
sundaysandseasons.com. Used by Permission
