In an attempt to keep my content “evergreen,” I try not to reference dates. However, as a public service, I need to inform you that this Sunday is Palm Sunday. I am breaking my evergreen rule because I realize many of us have lost track of what day it is as this pandemic continues. The struggle is real, folks. Somebody mentioned that everyday feels like Saturday, with the entire household at home looking for something to do.

So let’s get ready for our virtual Palm Sunday parade. It saddens me DEEPLY that we will not gather in our sanctuaries and watch the little children process down the center aisle, waving palm branches as we sing “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna to the King!” So please, if you will, get up after you read this and parade around your house in your jammies, waving your palms.

What? You don’t have any palm branches? Look at your hands. Yep. Two palms, right there. God provides!

John 21 (The Message)

^1-3 When they neared Jerusalem, having arrived at Bethphage on Mount Olives, Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: “Go over to the village across from you. You’ll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you’re doing, say, ‘The Master needs them!’ He will send them with you.”

^4-5 This is the full story of what was sketched earlier by the prophet:

Tell Zion’s daughter,
“Look, your king’s on his way,
    poised and ready, mounted
On a donkey, on a colt,
    foal of a pack animal.”

Try to imagine this scene. Jesus is at the height of his popularity, albeit fleeting. He is making a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The crowd is going wild….think Super Bowl Parade wild. Some understand the prophecy that is being fulfilled. Some have seen his miracles. Some remember the lunch he served on the hillside to the 5,000. Others have just come to see what the ruckus is about.

Here comes our king, riding on a donkey so small that he probably has to hold his feet up or they would drag on the road. Something is wrong with this picture.

^6-9 The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!” “Hosanna in highest heaven!”

As the parade goes on, people begin to feel discomforted. The optics in front of them are not jiving with their idea of “kingship.”

¹⁰ As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?”

¹¹ The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.”

But does anything good ever come from Nazareth?

Palm Sunday is the beginning of the downhill slide to the crucifixion, which is less than a week away. It didn’t take long for the crowd to turn from yelling his name in praise to yelling his name as their choice over Barabbas for the death penalty. Because his crown was not bejeweled and his mode of transportation was not a great white charger, their enthusiasm for this “king” began to wane.

Instead, he rode a humble donkey to receive a crown of thorns.

We can be guilty of this as well. At the moment of our enthusiastic conversion, or after a stirring retreat, or in the passion of a high and holy experience, it is easy to wave our palms and sing Hosannas. But when illness, disaster, betrayal, or pandemics come, we can easily begin to think, “What’s going on here? Who is this?”

Resist that. Change your idea of what your king should look like. You won’t always get the answer to prayer that you are hoping for…and that is often a good thing. Worshipping the king requires trusting that he works for the good of those who love him.

What you will get is a humble savior, a crucified and risen Lord, and the king of kings. See him for what he is!

This king is the one who went from hero to zero for the sake of the world, ensuring your eternal life. God SO loved the world he sent us this only son, who took on beatings, scorn, and shame for the salvation of his people.

Hosanna, indeed!