On Palm Sunday we celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Riding in on a donkey's colt, Jesus was praised and sung to, offered a cushy path of cloaks and palm branches; then betrayed and condemned shortly after. Every time I read that part of the story I'm reminded of those folks: exalting Jesus one day, calling for his death the next. How moody and un-centered they are, and how like them I am. It's by the mercy of Christ, and by discipline and spiritual formation, that we remain centered in love. (If this Palm Sunday litany isn't to your liking, here's another. )
Here are the Lectionary passages for the Palm Sunday Liturgy.
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
His steadfast love endures forever! (1)
This is the day that the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it! (2)
Jesus Christ, you were the stone we rejected,
Yet you have become our Cornerstone, (3)
The one we look to as the best example of God’s Love;
The one we exalt above all others.
We are spreading our cloaks out on the path
Laying palm branches at your feet
We offer every good thing we have:
Every talent
Every blessing
Every moment
Every word and thought.
Every thing of value that we claim
We lay at the feet of the King who comes
In humility, in peace, and in Divine Love.
Help us to remain in your steadfast love -
Rooted in gratitude and grounded in your presence;
To stay - no matter what the crowds around us do-
Steeped in compassion and centered in mercy.
Hosanna to the Son of David! (4)
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD (5)
Amen
1) Psalm 118:1
2) Psalm 118:24
3) Psalm 118:22
4) Matthew 21:9
5) Psalm 118:26