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Palm Sunday: Hope In Dangerous Places
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. (v. 13) So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” (v. 14) Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: (v. 15) “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” John 12:12-15
Palm Sunday brings us to the close of Lent, a season of denial and sacrifice, and ushers us into Passion Week (Holy Week) with all of its hope and expectations of liberation and salvation. Palm Sunday on the Christian calendar coincides with the week leading to the Passover celebration on the Jewish calendar. These days remind Christians of our connection with the Jewish faith and how both faith traditions look for God’s in-breaking in human affairs by the Messiah. Palm Sunday demonstrates how no amount of oppression can dash the hopes of a people who believe that their king will come.
The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is not only Jesus going to a place of danger but it involves Jesus engaging in dangerous activity. Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem leads to a crowd that was present in the city for Passover going out and meeting Jesus while waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna. The actions of the people clearly point to their expectation that Jesus would use his power to liberate them from the foreign oppression of Rome. Rome had killed more than its fair share of those who presented a threat .
The church is sometimes called upon to engage in dangerous activity, whether it is speaking out on issues of injustice or providing theological clarity about the church’s purpose in a culture that craves entertainment. Palm Sunday is more than another day of celebration by the Christian Church as it awaits Easter. It is also a day of reflection on how the presence of believers in dangerous places can transform them into places of hope. Palm Sunday is God’s reminder to us of what can be done when courage, humility, love and hope coalesce and enter places of danger and what can happen when those filled with these character traits engage in dangerous activity—this all leads to salvation.(Excerpted from Rev. Ricky Woods, First Baptist Church of Charlotte).