Holy Week

Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast written and produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us today. This is Holy Week, a time when Christians everywhere observe the days leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. This week, we present a special set of podcasts that day by day, trace the activities and words of Jesus during this time. Again, thank you for joining us on this journey.

Matthew 21:8-9 (NIV)

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

 

Palm Sunday is always a fun day in the life of the church. Children of all ages wave palm branches, there is festive, happy music — many times a welcome reprieve during the season of Lent — and we can see light of Easter at the end of the tunnel. Those of us who work in the church often have a little bit of an unease with the festive day, as churchgoers who don’t experience the moods of the rest of the week miss out on an important part of the story. My mother-in-law, whom I loved dearly, used to complain about Maundy Thursday and especially Good Friday services, “Who wants to go church to be sad?” But without the pain and suffering that follows, the joy of Easter feels a bit…unearned. And what’s more, without the rest of the week, one goes from the festivity of Palm Sunday to the festivity of Easter, missing such an important part of the story. Don’t get me wrong. Churchgoing should inspire joy and happiness. It’s just that often, it can feel like people want the dessert without eating the vegetables first.  

Of course, that is how we understand Palm Sunday only because we know the rest of the story. It’s really rather difficult to reframe our perspective to that of what it must have been like when Jesus actually entered the gates of Jerusalem, but then, Jesus knew what was going to happen, too. He predicted it to his disciples.

But for a moment, let’s try to imagine what that must have been like — here was this King, not a political king, but a spiritual one, and folks recognize his greatness and ability to save them. That’s why they shout “Hosanna;” it means “save us.” They assemble for a parade. They throw palm branches and even cloaks down before him. In our modern-day society, if there’s a parade in a person’s honor, that person usually arrives in the fanciest, most expensive vehicle they can find. They are all dressed up — sometimes with a sash or a crown — and there is usually quite an entourage ahead of them. That isn’t Jesus’s approach, though. Jesus chooses to ride on a donkey. It was customary for great warriors (those who would save people) to ride on a great stallion, just like we arrive to a parade in our honor in a fancy car. But Jesus chooses the donkey and the colt of the donkey, and he does this in fulfillment of the prophecy from Zechariah, but he also does it to demonstrate meekness and lowliness. He does it to demonstrate that he is not a warrior, but a peacemaker. He does it, essentially to say that he is not a political soldier, interested in domination and war, but he instead brings a new way of thinking and of being, one of peace and justice and love and reconciliation.

So often, we get caught up in the festivity ourselves. We are the people laying down their palm branches. But, as people who know the rest of the story, we have to remember that immediately after this, Jesus issues a number of challenges to his followers. He overturned tables when the temple leaders were bilking money from visitors. He reminded his followers of their equality with those on the fringes of society. Speaking in parables, he told of the kingdom of heaven. And he challenged the religious leaders’ limited and literal reading of the law. He really upset the apple cart.

So, as we continue into this week, I hope we stay alert to the challenges of Jesus. I hope we also recognize that, as much as we don’t want to face the pain and suffering he endured, it is part of the story that helps us not just to understand what he went through but also helps us to celebrate when we get to Easter Sunday. Similarly, let us challenge ourselves to keep those difficult lessons close just as we want to keep the easy ones.

Let us pray.

God, you challenge us in ways that make us uncomfortable sometimes. We’d rather throw the parade, celebrating and rejoicing. It’s much harder both to acknowledge your suffering and to do the work of being your disciple ourselves. When we shy away from painful parts of Holy Week, remind us of how much sweeter the rejoicing can be when we first acknowledge all you went through. And when we forget the difficult work we need to do on ourselves, remind us of the ways you call us to be better people, worthy of being called followers in your name. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.