Worship Sundays at 9 am
This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
(Preparing for Worship 3-24-13)
Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion has long been a challenge. It is hard to plan a meaningful worship experience that begins with joy and triumph that can settle in our bones which at the same time takes us to the disillusionment and surprise of Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution. How do we hold these two very different experiences together? How do we experience each of them fully on one Sunday? And more importantly how does each of these events in Jesus’ life inform our faith lives and discipleship today?
It is true that disillusionment is a real experience that we run into along the journey of faith. Things don’t always look like they are going to turn out like they are supposed to. Walking through the valley of the Shadow of death is a difficult thing for anyone. But David reminds us in his poem (Psalm 23) that even there the presence and guidance of our shepherd steadies us so our faith can trusts in God’s faithfulness to bring us to the day of triumph and rejoicing again.
So, this is our challenge: to meaningfully hold these two challenging parts of this Sunday before Easter together into a unified witness that God works in and through events that we have trouble making sense out of. This activity is a mark of discipleship and an activity that those who travel in faith must at some point learn for themselves. Let us gather and practice this activity of faith as we hear about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and is arrest, trial and suffering.
Pastor Mitch