Faith Beyond the Palms

"Faith Beyond the Palms" Do you remember the last time you felt like everything was simply perfect? It was a great day…a perfect day! Like the scene from the “Sound of Music” when Maria’s twirling and singing across fields of green under a perfectly blue sky, “The hills are alive...!” It's Palm Sunday so today we are peeking in on what was probably at the time one of the most thrilling days of all history. A day so filled with hope that, had she been there, Maria would have been twirling and singing and romping her happy heart out. A day that if you were alive and had witnessed the events in person, would have been one of those, “I remember exactly what I was wearing and who I was with” kind of days! The day is referred to as “The Triumphal Entry” or “Palm Sunday”, and it surely felt triumphant! It was a great day for HOPE . . .the ultimate day! The kind of day that makes you think, “Maybe it’s all going to be ok now.” If ever there was a “things are all going to be ok” kind of day in the Bible, surely this was it! You’re in Jerusalem...maybe you’ve been to visit Jesus...seen a healing...heard of hundreds more. All your life you’ve lived under the oppression of the Romans and the weight of the history of oppression is a defining part of your life, your family, your past and foreseeable future. And now, you’re seeing Jesus come through Jerusalem. His name is murmured in the crowd…and called out…and shouted…JESUS!! Jesus!! Hosanna! Hosanna! Salvation has come!! If people “high-fived” back then, I think there would have been high fives all around! This was quite an event! Zechariah had prophesied this day 800 years earlier Rejoice greatly! Shout aloud, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and riding on a donkey. I will set your prisoners free - prisoners of hope I will restore to you double! And the people were shouting like they knew what they felt was true! Freedom! Double restoration! “Hosanna!” “Salvation has come!!” Everyone’s excited! Who wouldn’t be? Miracles! Powerful, authoritative teaching! A huge following! Crowd frenzy! All this culminating as they surely knew He must be a prophet! And while salvation did come and has come – for those people gathered and shouting and hopeful – only a few days later that very fickle crowd turned their hosannas to crucify him. Led by their emotions rather than the truth – they knew the prophecies, they had seen his miracles, they had true reason to believe – rather than trusting they shifted and went with the momentary solidarity with the louder voices, the stronger presence, what appeared to be the mightier leaders – and aren’t we tempted to be the same? Palm Sunday is a reminder to us all of the fickle nature of our hearts. That we are not only prone to wander but we are even eager to run. Instead of holding fast because of what we know to be true, we “think with our feelings” as I literally heard someone say earlier this week. We love the feeling of triumph, of everything feeling like it’s ok...but every day isn’t a Palm Sunday high fiving celebration kind of day – so we must look ahead to the true victory - resurrection and see him through the weekdays. Salvation has come. Jesus did and will continue to ride victoriously – our call is to remain faithful after the Palm Sundays – to not drift away on the Mondays, or lose heart on the Wednesdays, or deny him on Friday...we do not see everything in order around us – but we must still see him – because as hope-filled it was, Palm Sunday’s celebration is just a parade announcing the better hope of the resurrection! So, today we celebrate like we do every Sunday that we serve a risen savior – a fact that cannot be changed by our feelings, but it is often blurred by them – but we must see him – Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for all of us – thank God the party didn’t end on Palm Sunday, it was just getting started!