Liturgy of the Palms

For almost 40 years they have done their plodding, gracious work on me and my vocation.

In the Palm Sunday narrative, all the signs are there: something big is about to happen.

Even if we think we don’t need a savior, we seek one.

An odd, charming gospel account that draws from dozens of sources

Palm Sunday makes me cringe.

Humility isn't a stunt for Jesus—it's a condition of his life.

When she knew she was dying, my grandmother took me to see the cornerstone of a small brick church in my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. I didn’t recognize the sign outside. It was a Baptist church, I think. It was pretty rundown, but still in better shape than the neighborhood. Overgrown vacant lots were everywhere; it was like visiting an abandoned church in the jungle.

Palm Sunday is a story of disappointed expectations, of what happens when someone you admire refuses to be who you think they should be.

A few years ago, while wandering through the Old City of Jerusalem, I stumbled upon a spray-painted sign on the side of a small factory building. It called out in English: “We need peace.”

It seemed to me like a modern-day cry of “hosanna” coming from the people of Jerusalem.

How does a crowd turn from shouts of joy to cries of murder in such a short span?

After Jesus shared his last supper with his friends, they sang a hymn together. There is every reason to believe it was the Hallel, Psalms 113 through 118. How have I missed this before?

When I was a child, I loved Palm Sunday because we got to act out the biblical version of a ticker-tape parade. Later I learned of the ephemeral quality of stardom and parades and decided that Palm Sunday and Passion Week belong together. As a pastor, I have accepted the dismal fact that most of our people skip Thursday, Friday and Saturday, slipping from parade pandemonium to Easter ecstasy with none of the suffering and pain.

The two disciples must have imagined a grander and nobler role for themselves than donkey detail. For this they left their fishing nets?

The term better fits Matthew than Mark, and neither Gospel justifies the church’s celebration of Palm Sunday as though it were an Easter before Easter.

In Mark's Palm Sunday story, Jesus seems to have no understanding of rank.