A HOLY WEEK: Day One

Today the parade came to town. I heard lots of screams from adults and their children. Some people no doubt got caught up in the excitement of the occasion, more than they did the spiritual significance of God’s chosen one arriving for his date with a cross, but it was good of them to show.

Lots of Bible was heard. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” was the most common cry. I had heard that one before...for that matter, I had heard all of it before, many times before. I couldn’t know what was going on inside their hearts, so I can only presume they intended to mean what they said.

Lots of debris, too. Palm branches and coats covered the road. I didn’t stay long enough to know whether owners retrieved their street confetti additions, but at times they were piled in multiple layers, making an impressive display, if nothing else.

The star of the parade, of course, was Jesus; all eyes were on him today. Our particular parade piece identified the wonders and miracles he had performed over the years of his ministry. Easy to cheer such a prolific healer.

As noted earlier, I have been to this parade before, lots of times; for a “religious professional” such as myself, it’s kind of expected that I will be somewhere in the crowd. But no matter how many times I wave my palm branch and witness these proceedings, two observations remain true:

First, there is a powerful disconnect between today’s carnival and Friday’s cruelty, between today’s festivity and Friday’s finality. At every parade I am just short of dumbstruck that people so amiable and appreciative when Jesus came to town – pleading with him to save them now (which is what “hosanna” means), and calling him “King” and the one who comes in God’s name – would so quickly and completely turn on him by the end of the week, calling for his death rather than the criminal Barabbas’. What’s wrong with people?

Second, there’s a reason I know something about this parade and its hypocritical participants: I am one of them.... What’s wrong with me?


Pray with me:
God, the week has only begun, and I am already uncomfortable. I suppose that’s the point, but it’s not a fate I choose freely. Help me get through this day, then get me moving toward the confrontation of the soul – a cross-roads, you might call it – that I need to have. In the name of the one who came in your name, Amen.