Hope From Ashes

Read: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Luke 19:28-40

For seasoned Christians, the celebratory spirit of Palm Sunday might seem a little odd given our knowledge of the subsequent events that occurred after Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem that will be commemorated in the upcoming days of Holy Week. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem, and it was an occasion met with great excitement. Many believed Him to be the Messiah, and they cheered His arrival. He was a vessel of hope, and He was considered the blessed King who had come in the name of the Lord. The people had an expectation that He was an agent of peace.  Joy abounded then in the hope of the Lord, and joy should be abundant today. 

The arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem was akin to a celebrity or dignitary arriving at a location today. But unlike the King or Queen of England, there was no horse-drawn ornate chariot that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. He didn’t have a presidential motorcade with all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. He wasn’t Taylor Swift arriving at the Grammy’s in a limousine with a red-carpet runway. No, our Jesus made his triumphant arrival in Jerusalem on a colt.  He rode in on a meager donkey – a symbol of his humility and modesty.  And the crowds that greeted Jesus didn’t just wave at Him from behind a rope-line or security barricade.  They approached Him and placed their cloaks along His path, an expression of their deep respect, reverence, and admiration for Him.  They were exuberant in their welcome. 

On this Palm Sunday, let us approach Jesus with the energy and zeal He received from the crowd when He arrived in Jerusalem.  Let our hope in Him guide our lives and give us peace as we navigate the complexities of life.  May we be Christ-like in our humility, and may we also have a spirit of sacrifice in this last week of the Lenten season as an expression of our love for Jesus and gratitude for Him as we celebrate this Holy Week.

Prayer:

Lord, we enthusiastically celebrate you today! We welcome you into our hearts, into our worship spaces, and into our lives.  We praise you for your son, Jesus, who modeled humility for us.  Use us in this upcoming Holy Week celebration to point others to you and to share the hope and peace that can only be found in you.  Amen.