Readings:
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-end;
Mark 11: 1-11

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

Crowds can be a place of great euphoria as well as a place of great fear and during this last year the experience, or lack of it, of crowds has dramatically changed. I remember someone telling me of the joy and exuberance of being part of the crowd outside Buckingham Place on VE day.  Then there something quite emotional about being part of a crowd on the terraces watching your favourite team, sharing the highs and lows of the match.  There are the crowds in the shopping centre that we all long to avoid, even without COVID and then there is the fear of the crowd as it starts to get out of control and you are at the will of the crowd for your own safety.  Then there are the times when you get so caught up in the vitriol of a speaker that the crowd becomes menacing. I always remember a school trip to Nuremburg and standing on the platform where Hitler address the mass rallies and feeling the menacing hatred that was still prevalent in the atmosphere, recognizing that the crowds could be whipped up into a frenzy of hatred. Now of course being part of a crowd has taken on yet another characteristic as many fear being part of a crowd and wonder how long this fear will last.

Crowds play a pivotal role within the gospel stories, Jesus constantly finds himself at the centre of a crowd whether it’s for the sermon on the mount, being jostled by the crowd when the woman touched him, the crowd following him through town as he spotted Zacchaeus up that tree, the crowd shouting for his death or today when we hear the crowd welcoming him into the holy city of Jerusalem as there king, this all conquering hero. I love the images of the crowds, they really help me to connect with the story and to feel the emotion of the event.

For me the events of Palm Sunday conjure up a sense of euphoria, more so that maybe any of the other stories in the gospel. I find it really easy to imagine myself there, the noise, the smell, the atmosphere all helping me to immerse myself in that event. It feels to me that everyone was on the streets of Jerusalem that day, drawn by the noise, the rumour and as they come they start to get caught up in the exuberance and excitement of what was happening.  They seem to let their cares and worries go, all their hope was focused on Jesus, who was going to set them free.  Offering them hope for a better future.  

I can’t help but be reminded of the crowds that gathered to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama and the hopes of a nation and the world that were placed on his shoulders.   Many of these hopes were unrealistic, many wouldn’t be met and for some those hopes were dashed when the change that was longed for didn’t materialise.  This left many disappointed.  It’s not fair to lay all this on the shoulders of President Obama as the expectations were just so great, and yet this happened to Jesus.

The expectations of a nation were placed on the shoulders of Jesus as he entered the holiest city and yet within a week the crowd turned against him and on his shoulders Jesus took the weight of the world.  As we think about the events of that first Palm Sunday and journey through Holy Week I invite you to think about where you are in those crowds?  What are you feeling?  Would you be on the edge hanging back…watching and wondering what’s going on?  Would you have been with those who came to Jerusalem with Jesus, leading the shouting and waving of branches?  Where in the crowd would you be on Good Friday?

As you think about your place in the crowd, your feelings and emotions, may you open yourself to God and listen to what God is saying to you.

Mike Morris