Palm Sunday Confusion
Palm Sunday is confusing. I’ve never known quite what to make of it. Is supposed to be a triumphal entry in Jerusalem or is it supposed to be the beginning of the Passion? Having confirmation on this Sunday just makes things worse. Its confused. Emotions are wrecked. Its a roller-coaster of a ride, from the thrill of the King riding in to the death on the cross.
This is no different than a typical Lord’s Day. Every Lord’s Day we make the same move but in reverse. It’s the reverse of the Law-Gospel progression and throws us off. Holy Week takes us from the “Theology of Glory” to the “Theology of the Cross”. Our rejoicing with palms is a morbid one. We travel from cross to empty tomb, from death to resurrection. Christians are in there nature schizophrenic, sinner and saint. We need both the death just as much as we need the resurrection.
The Sundays IN Lent are bizarre. We are stuck in a penitential time, looking forward to the cross. Each Sunday we have a brief oasis of resurrection joy in the midst of grief. Its a confusing time. Don’t worry though, Easter will straighten you out. Holy Week throws you into the narrative. You ride into Jerusalem in majesty. You are sentenced and die. Palm Sunday is a bizarre. On Easter you rise with Christ.
(And so ends my week hiatus from blogging. I guess my muse is back.)
p.s. Pr. Petersen’s sermon from last week might help if you’re as confused as I am: Divine Irony
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I’m with you. I also get confused about how we should see those who greeted Jesus on His way into Jerusalem.
On the one hand, they greeted Him as a king, which is a good thing. On the other hand, they likely thought He was coming to remove the lousy Romans from the City of David, which indicates a misunderstanding of what Jesus was truly coming to do.
I guess we have to throw them on the same “sometimes faithful, sometimes not” pile as we do Peter.
I wonder about those folks too. It’s never really clear whether they are the same crowds that call for Barrabas. Many commentators not the descripancy. It doesn’t help much except they are children on Palm Sunday and not at the trials. WHo really knows though. They point being two different kinds of triumph are present. They conflict with each other.
Its good unresolved tension. We Lutherans love this stuff!