By Dr. Jeff Mathis
Palm Sunday is the one day in the church calendar year that makes me scratch my head.
Perhaps it's the fear that you can go from being a king to a criminal in less than a week in the eyes of your own people. Think about it. If Jesus's own people greeted him with "Hosanas" one day and then shouted, "Crucify Him!" five days later, what's the lifespan of our own acceptability? Five minutes?
At the crux of it, Palm Sunday reveals that we like the idea of Jesus. We like Jesus's power, his storytelling, his compassion, and the hope that he gives us. But we balk at Jesus's demands. We shake our heads at Jesus when He doesn't do what we want Him to do. We turn our backs on Him when He doesn't become a donkey for us to ride on into our own kingdoms.
Who wouldn't relish the opportunity to celebrate Jesus's arrival on Main Street? The question is, however: What will we do when He settles in among us?
Welcome to the City (But One Wee Word of Advice)
By Ian Cowie
Lord Jesus,
If only you would come to our city like you did to Jerusalem.
We’ve some great hymns to sing to welcome you!
Our guitars would be out to lead the singing;
we’d wave our scarves and dance.
You would get a real red-carpet welcome –
five-star treatment.
There would be a real religious revival. It would be wonderful.
If only you would come here
to our country
to rescue us.
But in case you do,
just one wee word of advice –
stick to religion, but be careful.
Don’t interfere with politics, or economics, or big business and all that, and be careful not to make unpopular changes in the way we worship.
Save us from what might happen in the next life, yes,
but leave us to go on our own way,
the way we are used to in this life.
If you get it wrong for our city,
who knows?
We, too, might have to liquidate you.