Reflections for Youth - Palm Sunday According to Luke
Zoom. That's how fast I feel Lent is going. It's
almost over already.
This Sunday is Palm Sunday where we first celebrate -
and then begin the journey through Holy Week.
The "palm" in Palm Sunday refers to the branches the crowd
waved to celebrate Jesus coming to Jerusalem.
It's also called Passion Sunday - with the word
"passion" referring to Jesus' execution less than a week later.
Jesus and the disciples were on their way to
Jerusalem. When they got close, as close as the neighboring villages of
Bethpage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, they stopped. Jesus dispatches two
disciples to go to the village and bring him a colt that will be tied up
there. He tells them to tell anyone who
asks they are doing it because their "master wants it." So they do. Mission accomplished. They bring the colt to Jesus and some of the
followers threw their cloaks over the colt's back, helped Jesus up, and off
they go to Jerusalem. They also spread clothes along the road.
(Sidebar: Once several years ago in Sunday School I
was telling this story. I asked the kids who the disciples would do that -
spread their coats on the road. One student answered, "Probably because of
the potholes!")
Off they went to Jerusalem. Luke’s passage says as they started down
the hill from the Mount of Olives, many more disciples and followers shouted
joyfully.
“Bless the king who comes in the name of God! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!”
The Pharisees (always the party poopers who have all
along taken offense to Jesus) hear the people praising God and shouting about a
king. They said to Jesus, “Make them be quiet! This talk about a king will get
everyone in trouble.”
Jesus respond
to them by saying, “If they are quiet, these stones on the road would
shout.”
I guess the Pharisees have a point. According them,
unless Jesus is really the Messiah it is blasphemous for his disciples and
followers to call him a king. And even
worse for Jesus to let them call him one.
The Pharisees consider themselves to be the experts of proper religious
conduct. They observe the law and feel responsible to make sure that others are
following the rules as well. Jesus comes along and doesn’t play by their rules.
So, the thing Jesus says about the stones crying out
is a little weird - right? My best guess is that Jesus is reminding them that
even if they silence the crowd - God is still God and Jesus has been sent to
share God's love. It's a reminder that
God can bring forth life from that which has no life.
Here in Luke's version I am struck by the obedience of
the disciples in obtaining the colt and the joyous words of celebration of the
people as he rode into town. I am also thinking about how things change very
quickly. Jesus' situation changed
drastically in just a matter of days.
Who knows for sure if some of the people celebrating Jesus' arrival in
the city along that road were among the people that were later in the week
demanding his crucifixion? I am assuming
some of them were.
Can think about a time when things in your life
changed as quickly?
Here's what I am thinking about his week:
Aren't we sometimes guilty of the same things? Waving
a celebrating and worshiping when we are happy, and things are good - and then
ignoring and not noticing God's presence other times? Maybe even blaming God
when things are not going so well? Or at least wondering, "God - where the
heck are you?"
It's kind of easy to judge those people who changed so
quickly on Jesus - but to be fair they didn't know what would happen to Jesus
next.
I've been thinking this week that even though I know
the end of the story- I have those times where I am waving palms on Sunday and
ignoring God on Monday.
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