REFLECTION
I wonder if you have any memories of Palm Sunday from your childhood? For me it conjures up thoughts of happy and carefree times, of springtime, sunshine, the Easter holidays from school and, most importantly, the promise of chocolate eggs! I think back to when I was in Sunday School, where we would hear the story of Jesus having a nice donkey ride, with everyone cheering and waving palms and shouting Hosanna! Often, we would make our own palms and wave them, or draw pictures of the scene. And back in those Sunday school days I figured that Jesus was happy and carefree too, enjoying the ride, enjoying the sunshine and enjoying the goodwill of the people. But was He happy and carefree, or was He intensely anxious with the thought of what lay ahead?
As children we learn the Easter story in a somewhat sanitised way, and necessarily so, because the real story is quite upsetting. Not just the nails and thorns, but the loneliness and betrayal that Jesus faced too.
One thing that struck me when looking again at this Palm Sunday reading, was how it marks a real pivot point in Jesus’ ministry. Up until this point Jesus is very much in control, He meets any opposition with clever arguments and responses, He was unfazed by any question or situation. But from Palm Sunday onwards the narrative changes as He relinquishes that control and submits Himself to the inevitable events of what we call Holy week. It all starts as He goes to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with the disciples. Instead of walking into Jerusalem as He had done many times before, He makes a carefully considered entrance, riding on a donkey. We perhaps associate donkeys with rides along Brighton beach but, in those days, it was considered a noble beast used by important people when on peaceful missions. And so, by arriving in this way, Jesus draws attention to himself in a way He has not done before and the crowds gather to see Him.
Among the crowds that day there may well have been people whom he’d healed, or who had heard Him teach. Maybe some of the 5000 who were fed by the lakeside were there, who knows, but there is certainly enough goodwill to cheer Him on His way. I wonder if, just for a moment, He allowed himself to enjoy this recognition for all that He had achieved during His ministry. Also in the crowd, however, are those who feel threatened by His presence, and who are now challenged by his arrival in this fashion. They can no longer ignore Him, or hope He will just go away and, from this point on, His fate was sealed. And each year as we make this journey with Jesus through Holy week, we are grieved once again to hear of His suffering, and perhaps we are caused to reflect on our own lives: Happy times and sunny days. But also times of anxiety and hopelessness, times when we have been very aware of the frailty of our own flesh. But in all these things, Jesus has been there before us. It is in this Holy week that we feel closest to Jesus, and it was on the cross that He became closest to us. He experienced what it is like to be truly human - to be separated from God by sinful human nature without hope of reconciliation - to die our death.
Death is the consequence of sin, but He was without sin so how could that work? Well it couldn’t, and by dying our death, He broke its power over us and reconciled us to God.
As we share with Jesus the Easter story once again, so to do we share the reality of resurrection. I wonder if those people waving their palms and shouting Hosanna even began to comprehend the true significance of the man on the donkey that day. And how, by the end of the week, He would change humankind’s relationship with God forever.
I want to take you back to that day now, and for you to imagine that you’re one of the children of Jerusalem, as mentioned in that favourite Palm Sunday hymn:
One day you become aware of a commotion, a crowd is gathering, naturally you go and see what’s happening, you pass the soldiers who are standing around chatting, and those religious men with the long beards... you don’t like them! You push yourself to the front of the crowd, A man is approaching riding on a donkey and people are throwing their cloaks in front of him, cheering and waving palm branches. People are saying that it’s Jesus, but you don’t know who he is, He looks like a good man though...a kind man, He is coming past you now and you’re sure he sees you...........You’re just a young and carefree child enjoying the sunshine and the spectacle, but He catches your eye, and smiles at you. Someone gives you a palm branch and you wave it enthusiastically and shout ‘Hosanna!’ at the top of your voice.
Then He turns His face back towards Jerusalem….. Now certain that He must complete the task that lies ahead of Him.
Amen
A prayer
Lord Jesus, as we remember your triumphant entry into Jerusalem that day, and picture that happy scene of celebration, we remember happy times in our own lives with grateful thanks. And at this time of great uncertainty and anxiety we remember that you felt these emotions too, that first Holy week. Yet undaunted you went to the cross to reconcile us with God. Help us to draw comfort from this in these uncertain times and rest in the sure knowledge that the cares of this life will fall away one day and that we can be with you in eternity.
Amen