The Simplest and the Best

this is holy week in the christian calendar.  the week began with palm sunday, or, in some churches, palm/passion sunday, when the entry of jesus into jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of his life is remembered.  i am always torn between the celebratory nature that the re-enactment of this procession takes on, with children marching through the church waving palm branches, their faces full of smiles as they giggle down the aisles, and the knowledge that this is the beginning of the end for jesus' life as an itinerant teacher.  there is a mystery about jesus' participation in this event, with his sending of some of his followers to secure the donkey he rides on which has obviously been planned in advance.  such a procession could hardly have escaped the watchful eyes of the roman occupiers, and it is amazing that jesus wasn't arrested in the midst of it for participating in an insurrection against roman rule.  yet it continued uninterrupted according to the gospel accounts, which makes one wonder if it really took place exactly as the writers told it.

perhaps the group welcoming jesus into the city wasn't as large as we imagine.  maybe it was only a small group of his followers.  matthew's gospel describes jesus as being greeted by a "very large crowd," while luke mentions "the whole multitude of disciples."  we have an image of something like a parade with people standing on either side of the road throwing their cloaks and palm branches on the ground ahead of the approaching donkey on which jesus rides inside the city, but the gospels say that this took place before jesus enters jerusalem, as he makes his way to the city.  we don't know how those who honored him knew that jesus was coming or had time to prepare to greet him unless word had been sent in advance, again suggesting that this event had some prior planning.

at any rate, we probably make too much of this "triumphal procession," since it heralds the coming crucifixion of jesus a few days later, when another crowd gathers to call for his death and to mock him as he is taken to the place of execution.  the celebratory nature of our observance of palm sunday is irksome, overshadowing the important teachings of jesus that come between it and the last passover that jesus and his disciples share, teachings which we largely ignore in our holy week devotions.  i would prefer that we do away with all the fuss associated with palms and concentrate on what jesus had to say once he entered in the city, as he condemned the desecration of the temple, denounced the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, and taught through a series of parables.

may we not be so caught up in the beginning of holy week that we forget where it leads.  may we listen to what jesus taught, rather than focusing on this one event in his life that we recall on palm sunday.  may his message of a love which transcends the trappings of power be remembered every day of our lives.  shalom.