Palm Sunday: Good or Bad?

Palm Sunday appears to be a day of celebration in the middle of this somber season of Lent. It almost seems not to fit - but perhaps it fits all too well. In fact, from the perspective of Jesus, who is weeping while the people are dancing, this day could be one of the greatest tragedies in God's story. Jerusalem was expecting a Messiah to save them from a worldly enemy, while Jesus' mission was fundamentally spiritual. Because of a misplaced expectation, some of the same people who shouted "Hosanna!" on Sunday were shouting "Crucify Him!" by Friday. Perhaps there are some in our churches who have accepted Jesus as the Saviour who would rescue them from the things that make them sad, not seeing that the real enemy is within themselves. For such people, they are bound to meet a day when Jesus will seem to fail them. Jesus does not promise to give us things to fill us; He simply promises us fullness. Pastor Trevor concludes with the idea that the only way for us to make sense of Jesus and his Kingdom is if we, like detectives, re-trace the steps of the perpetrator, Jesus. We need to imitate him, follow his trail - a trail of cross-carrying and self-denial. The longer we persevere on that trail, the more trail markers we will see that allow the Kingdom Way to seem right in our minds, even though it is upside-down to the world.