What are we thinking when we pick up a palm and process into church on Passion Sunday?

Perhaps we are wondering how those very clever people weave their palm into a cross. Or perhaps we imagine we are commemorating an historic event. When Jesus rode his donkey into Jerusalem all those centuries ago, he was the centre of attention. Some thought he would be a powerful leader who would lead the people in an uprising against the occupying Romans. Others were just swept along in a sense of pageant. Few had grasped the true significance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Jesus had not come merely to overturn the Romans. Jesus’ picture was a much more universal one. Jesus’ mission was the salvation of the whole world for future generations. How many of us would remember Jesus today if his mission had been simply to lead an uprising against a Roman occupation? Jesus was riding into Jerusalem to meet his destiny. He could have heeded the warnings of his disciples and bypassed Jerusalem altogether. He could have continued his ministry of  teaching and healing into old age; but     whatever else Jesus was about, he certainly wasn’t about compromise. In riding into  Jerusalem, Jesus was telling us that his  mission to save each and every one of us was more important than life itself.

We can all walk into church waving our palms. We can all commemorate an historical event, but the more discerning of us know that this day is about ‘walking the walk’. We are the reason Jesus rode into Jerusalem. That’s a powerful thought. Knowing that we are the reason Jesus rode into Jerusalem, then we must honour him not with palms but with the quality of our lives.

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