Meditation 1: Palm Sunday
"We should not look on Palm Sunday simply as a day to recall the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It is that, but it is more. It is our own entry into the most solemn yet the most glorious experience of spirituality. For Jesus, Palm Sunday was his gateway to the culminating events of his earthly life. As we enter that gate with him, our spiritual lives are being ordered into the most sacred moments of the history of the world and of our own experience with the meaning of human existence." - Robert Webber
It is important for us to be reminded that Palm Sunday is not only about the celebration of Jesus' being proclaimed King. As Robert Webber says above, it is a gateway into a deeper experience of our faith. Christ's crucifixion and resurrection are the most important, most sacred and most powerful events of all time. It is vital that we spend time preparing ourselves to participate in the observance of these.
This is what the crowds shouted to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the day he entered Jerusalem.
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted:
"Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9)
This is what the crowds shouted to Jesus on Good Friday, the day he was killed in Jerusalem.
"Crucify him."
Pilate, it seems, wanted to let Jesus off the hook. From his perspective Jesus had not committed a sin worthy of death and certainly not the type of death that awaited him. But the crowds wanted him dead. Have you ever thought that some of the people who welcomed him into the city as a king could, just a few days later, cry for his crucifixion.
An ancient tradition in reading Scripture involves the reader placing themselves in the position of the person or persons that they are reading about. For example, if you are reading the story of the Good Samaritan you are bound to put yourself in the position of the Samaritan wondering if you would act like him in if you were in the same position. Or, if you read the story of the Prodigal Son you undoubtedly think about your "return" to Christ and how you were welcomed by the waiting and receptive father. It is natural for us to do this and it is a useful exercise.
However, have you ever put yourself in the position of one of the people in the crowd? Excited at Jesus' entrance into the city you throw robes on ground and wave palms as a means of honoring him as the long awaited Messiah. But the week wears on and Jesus begins to act in ways that you didn't expect. He says things that you wouldn't want your Messiah to say. And ultimately, he doesn't deliver the type of "kingdom" you anticipated. He acts too much like ... a lamb.
the question
What kind of Messiah, King or Savior do we expect Jesus to be? And, are we willing to give up what we want him to be for who he really is?
the prayer
Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; throughh Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
the psalm
Psalm 22:1-21 & Psalm 118:19-29
It is important for us to be reminded that Palm Sunday is not only about the celebration of Jesus' being proclaimed King. As Robert Webber says above, it is a gateway into a deeper experience of our faith. Christ's crucifixion and resurrection are the most important, most sacred and most powerful events of all time. It is vital that we spend time preparing ourselves to participate in the observance of these.
This is what the crowds shouted to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the day he entered Jerusalem.
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted:
"Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9)
This is what the crowds shouted to Jesus on Good Friday, the day he was killed in Jerusalem.
"Crucify him."
Pilate, it seems, wanted to let Jesus off the hook. From his perspective Jesus had not committed a sin worthy of death and certainly not the type of death that awaited him. But the crowds wanted him dead. Have you ever thought that some of the people who welcomed him into the city as a king could, just a few days later, cry for his crucifixion.
An ancient tradition in reading Scripture involves the reader placing themselves in the position of the person or persons that they are reading about. For example, if you are reading the story of the Good Samaritan you are bound to put yourself in the position of the Samaritan wondering if you would act like him in if you were in the same position. Or, if you read the story of the Prodigal Son you undoubtedly think about your "return" to Christ and how you were welcomed by the waiting and receptive father. It is natural for us to do this and it is a useful exercise.
However, have you ever put yourself in the position of one of the people in the crowd? Excited at Jesus' entrance into the city you throw robes on ground and wave palms as a means of honoring him as the long awaited Messiah. But the week wears on and Jesus begins to act in ways that you didn't expect. He says things that you wouldn't want your Messiah to say. And ultimately, he doesn't deliver the type of "kingdom" you anticipated. He acts too much like ... a lamb.
the question
What kind of Messiah, King or Savior do we expect Jesus to be? And, are we willing to give up what we want him to be for who he really is?
the prayer
Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; throughh Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
the psalm
Psalm 22:1-21 & Psalm 118:19-29
posted by The Wheatland Mission @ 8:57 PM
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