14APR2019 | Because I Said So

Palm Sunday. A dangerous holiday is Palm Sunday. Dangerous because, like so many other days of significance on the church calendar, we can get lulled into thinking there’s nothing new here.

What a mistake that would be, and not simply because as people of the Methodist tradition we believe scripture is twice-inspired...once when written and once when read.

As we enter Holy Week, we find ourselves with the masses welcoming Jesus in what is now known as the Triumphal Entry. We find ourselves with our palm branches and our cloaks, shouting Hosanna as we greet our Lord at the beginning of the week in which the faithful gather to celebrate the Passover.

Or do we?

Maybe instead we find ourselves as the Pharisees, trying to keep everything in order, prim and proper, in accordance with proper decorum.

Maybe instead we find ourselves as others in town who aren't paying a bit of attention to everything going on.

Luke's narrative of the events of that great day almost 2,000 years ago contains words that are every bit as essential to our faith today as they were when first recorded. As we eavesdrop on Luke's conversation with Theophilus (the one to whom he dictated what is now known as Luke's gospel) we discover a few absolutely crucial truths:

• Jesus prepares...

• Jesus knows...

• Jesus' presence...

• The truth cannot be...