JOIN IN THE PASSION

As [Jesus] came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” – Luke 19:41-42

I can remember the glory of Palm Sunday as a kid. I was always so excited to get my palm branch and be invited to process into the church behind the pastor at the beginning of worship, singing the standard Palm Sunday hymn “All Glory, Laud and Honor”. In fact, I’m humming the tune right now. It felt special and true, a rare chance to be energetic and celebratory for a little kid in the midst of worship behavior expectations.  

But I can also remember how that day progressed. In my home congregation, we celebrated Palm and Passion Sunday. That means that while the service starts with hymns of praise and waving palms, it moves to the reading of the entire passion narrative: Jesus’ betrayal, trial, suffering, crucifixion, and death. Each year, as I listened to the story of what Christ endured for me, I wept. I could hardly understand how people could go from praises to condemnations in a week. The highs and lows of the day were too much for me. 

That’s true for a lot of us. It can be hard to hear the stories of the pain and abandonment that Jesus faced. It can be hard to explain it to a kid, much less understand it for ourselves. We’d rather keep things happy and light, so we stick with Palm Branches and Easter celebrations and avoid Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Don’t give into that temptation. I know that it might feel so much more welcoming to celebrate and hope, especially after this past year, than to mourn and ache. But we need both, and God knows it. Even Jesus himself wept over the people and all they could not – or would not – understand. He gets that it’s hard for us. And it grieves him. 

I invite you into the entire story of the passion. Join us for worship, whether in person or online, in the next two days. Hear the things that make for peace: telling the truth, grieving the pain, recognizing the suffering all around us, and trusting that God is still greater.

Let us pray:

Let this Holy Week speak words of truth and peace to our hearts, God. Show us the ways that our actions have brought grief, not only to you, but to your entire creation. Through the death of your Son, show us the power in sacrifice and humility. Amen.