Meeting on the Road to Jerusalem
Why We Read the Passion Gospel on Palm Sunday
Dear Friends,
If you asked me what one of my worst personal traits is, I’d say that I am really judgy.
It’s not all bad, of course. A lot of my judgment is about holding myself and others to high standards, which I think is a good thing. But it can also make me difficult-bordering on unreasonable. There’s always room to push our best further.
As we look toward Palm Sunday, I found myself thinking about this aspect of my temperament – and how important our perspective on it is. Stay with me here.
Palm Sunday is a peculiar one in our liturgical and lectionary-driven calendar in that we seem to skip steps. As I’ve so often heard it told, we have to tell the Passion on Palm Sunday not because it belongs there, but to ensure that people hear it, that they aren’t jumping right from the ordinary preparations of Lent right into Easter, skipping the hardest parts of the story. Sure we’ll work through all of this during Good Friday, but a lot of people won’t be there – won’t prioritize it, so we do it now.
My judgy brain’s response to this approach, this feeling that we’re skipping steps for people’s convenience, objects. We need to show up. We need to do it “right.”
There’s another side to this approach, though. Maybe it’s skipping steps or maybe it’s making sure people get their deeper needs met. They might not independently choose to come to Good Friday and experience the story there, but people do need the Passion story and so we offer it on Palm Sunday when it can meet them where they are.
Sometimes the “lower standard” is the better option. It’s the option that actually can bring people closer to God without alienating them. It’s the open door, the path, the gate.
Telling the Passion on Palm Sunday is part of forming an Easter People in this time and place. I can be a grouse about all kinds of things, but I think the more charitable reading is the right one in this case.
Palm Sunday Projects
When I get to work on Sunday, I’ll have a few projects on the agenda.
Get out the instruments! Gotta make a joyful noise during the procession!
Coloring! I’ve got an old Illustrated Ministry ministry coloring page that leads us through the major days of Holy Week – I don’t even know if it’s one they sell anymore. They still have these Holy Week coloring sheets, though! I also love the Baby Believer Holy Week coloring pages.
Bulletin Board Updates! Right now our bulletin board is playing host to our Lent devotional resources, including the Lent Madness bracket. By Sunday we’ll be down to the wire on Golden Halo votes, so I’d love to get my trading cards of final bracket rounds up as I start changing it over to an Easter board.
Do I *ever* remember how to fold a palm cross? No! I grew up in a church where we received palm crosses instead of actual palms so I never had to learn how. I keep a set of instructions like these in my Palm Sunday files, so I’ll grab those for coffee hour.
I may set out a few of these Holy Week outlines from Katherine Bogner. She’s a Catholic educator, so bits like attending confession may not apply, but I think she makes great resources that can be easily adapted or pared back for other Christian contexts. Her site Look to Him and Be Radiant actually has an entire Google Drive folder of great Lent & Holy Week printable resources. In particular I might choose to put some Palm Weaving.
We’ll pick up our more complete Resource Round-Up after Easter, but I know right now I can’t think about resources that go beyond Easter! I have a few schemes on my agenda right now, but one thing at a time.
Peace,
Bird