The hope, joy and sorrow of Palm Sunday is a gift to all of us

April 13 is Palm Sunday, a holy day kept by many Christians around the world. This day commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

For Jesus, it was the beginning of a dramatic week that would see him crucified and later raised from the dead. This day, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week. For those Christians who keep Holy Week, we recall the dramatic events as told in the Gospels: the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

In the Gospels, we read that Jesus entered Jerusalem in a procession that must have resembled both a parade and a protest. People lined the way throwing garments and palm branches as Jesus entered the holy city. They shouted "Hosanna!" This means, "Save us!"

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PALM SUNDAY: WHAT DO THE PALMS REPRESENT?

Ancient Jerusalem then was under Roman occupation, led by a puppet government. People wanted freedom and hope. They wanted what all people want: the ability to flourish as the people God has made us to be. But the military occupation needed people to be loyal first to the government over all else.

When people began to call Jesus their king and their Lord, it was a threat to the established order. The tension on the first Palm Sunday must have been palpable. Hope and fear, freedom and might, righteousness and sin all mixed together.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. (iStock)

It’s not so different today. All around us, the world seems increasingly divided against itself. I think people across the political spectrum can agree on that. Chaos seems to increase. Violence reigns. Where is our peace?

Like those people of long ago, we who follow Jesus might well want to shout with fervor, "Hosanna! Save us!" We might like Jesus to come in and clean up our mess. But I think Jesus expects us to clean up the mess we have made. We need to turn over a new leaf. This is the very definition of repentance.

When we shout "Hosanna!" today we should not be thinking that Jesus will "save us" by fixing the mess we have made without expecting us to change. Quite the contrary. Fixing the world happens one life at a time, starting in our own hearts. 

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The events of Holy Week show us that God loves us more than we can imagine. Jesus was willing to die for us, to suffer, to open the gates of eternal life to all who believe in him. On the cross, he asked his Father to forgive his executioners. The whole story — from start to finish — is a story of sacrifice, generosity, forgiveness, mercy, and, above all, grace.

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If you go to a church this Sunday, you’ll likely experience a collision of two moods. Waving palms and singing vigorous hymns, you may feel hope and joy. Then hearing the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, you may feel sorrow. I love this contrast.

Hope, joy, and sorrow come together so often in our world. Read the headlines. Talk to a neighbor. Look around. If we can make sense of this collision of hope and sorrow on Palm Sunday, we have a good start at making sense of it every day of our lives.

You see, we humans mess up pretty regularly. We need a redeemer. We can’t get out of our mess on our own. And, yes, we also need to own up to our failings and be ready to amend our lives. This is exactly what Palm Sunday is about.

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Jesus enters the chaos of our lives and our world. We beg for salvation. Jesus will always hear us, and he is ready to forgive us our sins. And he is ready to journey with us through life’s challenges.

This won’t make the problems of the world go away by magic, but it can give us courage to be bearers of grace and mercy in this world.

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