Readings:
Isaiah 50: 4-9a;
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29;
Philippians 2: 5-11;
Luke 19: 28-40

Collect:
True and humble king,
hailed by the crowd as Messiah:
grant us the faith to know you and love you,
that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross,
which is the path of glory. Amen.

Reflection

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of what is arguably the most important week in the Christian calendar.  The account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is one that is all too familiar to us and I’m sure that we all have our own thoughts about what was happening and why something so promising seemed to go so catastrophically wrong ending with Jesus’ death on the cross. 

It was a day, no, a week full of emotions, beginning with some fear and trepidation as the disciples tried to persuade Jesus that going into Jerusalem may not be the most sensible thing to do.  Soon that anxiety would be replaced as Jesus was given a rapturous welcome as he rode down the hill into the city. The joy and euphoria of the occasion just took almost everyone along with it, here what must have felt like the whole population were out welcoming Jesus as this conquering hero.  No-one could have guessed how soon that euphoria would disappear to be replaced by vehement anger.

In amongst all the noise and the excitement that greeted Jesus was this man gently riding a donkey down the road.  It was a powerful moment in amongst a powerful week and I’m left thinking about the whole idea of power and the different types of power at play in the gospel accounts but also in our lives today.  

One of the things that strikes me about this coming week is the power of the crowd – it’s so easy to get caught up with everyone else the chants of welcome and the chants of crucify.  Largely the same people changing their minds because of the power of the crowd.  We see this all the time in the life of the world, those that shout the loudest get heard and sway others to join them and soon everything else is drowned out.  The rise of popularism in the democracies around the world where those seeking election whip up crowds with their messaging too afraid to sometimes speak the truth and reality is silenced or a new truth is formed.

The Pharisees certainly knew how to insight a crowd and used that to try and protect themselves.  I wonder how often we knowingly or unknowingly use our power to our own advantage? In contrast to this you have almost the silent power of Jesus.  Gently riding the donkey down into the city then standing before both the Sanhedrin and Pilate refusing to defend himself, even though he was facing death.  It is this silent power this authentic power that breaks through and I guess it is this power that is displayed in one of my favorite quotes from Desmond Tutu:

‘Goodness is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than darkness. Life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours through Him who loved us.’

As we journey through this Holy Week I pray that we will become aware of the power we see around us.  Those who exude their power and are coercive with it, those who have authentic power and those who feel that they are powerless.  May we think about our own power and may we commit ourselves to using it to include rather than exclude those around us.

May God grant us the exuberance of the Palm Sunday crowd,
and the humility of Jesus riding a donkey;
the energy and excitement of the crowd, and the calm holiness of Jesus;
the expectation of the crowd, and the understanding heart of Jesus
who journeyed to Jerusalem for love of us all.  Amen.

Mike Morris
Final prayer © 2002-2022 Roots for Churches Ltd