Sunday, March 24. The Christian World calls today Palm Sunday. They say it's called Palm Sunday because it relates to the Bible story of when Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and a crowd surrounded him, many waving palm branches and shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel." Notice, it is individuals in the crowd who spontaneously proclaim him to be the King of Israel. And Jesus does not rebuke them. To the contrary, when the religious leaders of his time heard about it, they "said to one another, 'See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" They were so upset, they immediately plotted to kill him! But the crowd had heard and witnessed Jesus healing and teaching and raising Lazarus from the dead! They knew in their hearts that this was the Messiah, the long expected Savior. They did not understand why the Pharisees, the Sadducees, even the priests and rabbis were so slow in recognizing this. And though they expected him to be a military Savior, at that moment, they gladly and wholeheartedly endorsed him their King. It was not an organized event. It was individual people moved by what they'd observed over a period of time, displaying their conviction.
I've decided this week to contemplate again Jesus' way of life, his mission and how it directly relates to my life today. What response would be my equivalent to waving palm branches and shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"?
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