Palm Sunday Parades and Other Misconceptions of Faith

Many of us know that Palm Sunday is the parade that welcomed Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. People spread their coats and palm fronds on the road and sang, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” But long before Jesus ever set foot toward the city of Jerusalem for Passover, the most important journey of his life was well underway.  And his feet never moved. 

It was a journey nurtured in silence, a path discovered through listening.  It was the journey inward…to that place that was not a place, but grounded all other places.  This journey kept Jesus doing what he was supposed to do and kept him doing it even when it ceased to be popular. This inner journey gave him the fortitude and clarity to remain undeterred. 

It is no coincidence that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem coincided with the celebration of Passover.  Passover is all about freedom from bondage.  It is the celebration that marks the Exodus and the end of slavery in Egypt at the hands of Pharaoh.  Like all Jews who were physically able to make the trip, Jesus and his friends made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the celebration. Passover was and remains a ritual symbolizing their belief that God set them free. It is an archetypal story that speaks to the human experience: from bondage to freedom, from death to life, from vulnerability to strength and back again, through suffering to new life.  Every great world religion has a feast/festival or celebration that marks the cycle of renewal and refreshment, freedom and new identity.

Jesus was formed in the crucible of Passover celebrations. It was a reminder that God’s intent was freedom and life without fear.  He was tempered by the prophets’ words and scarred with the fire of others’ pain.  He lived and laughed and loved after the way of God and showed God to all who would look and listen and follow.

Palm Sunday is a day to think twice about what freedom really is.  Jesus coming into the city suggests that he saw a truth beyond what appeared, underneath what was obvious.  Though he would be arrested later in in the week, this day staked Jesus’ path of freedom that was not measured by the absence of prison bars but by clarity of purpose.

What made Jesus dangerous and powerful is that his heart was undeterred no matter what.  He knew what was waiting for him and he went anyway.  He was unafraid of the consequences of his faithfulness. His words were mirrored in his actions.  He was of one heart and mind; he walked one path.  The only way you get that kind of clarity and resolve is by being faithful to the inner journey.  It is not an act of will; it is what happens in silence, study, prayer and community. 

The image of his steadfastness as we enter this week is a reminder that, if we are really honest, all we do is a reflection of who we are for better or worse, and usually for a whole lot of both. Our lives reveal the best and the worst of what it means to be human.  Our lives reveal the fruits of our inner garden. 

The celebration of Palm Sunday lies not in the palms and cheering crowds but in Jesus’ steely resolve to keep on being who he was and to keep on doing what he was doing. Jesus’ inner journey is a path for us to follow, but in a way that is uniquely our own.  We discover this by reaching in deep and allowing ourselves to listen for God’s whispering presence. 

Moses had a burning bush and that would be nice; but the summons to pilgrimage usually isn’t so obvious.  More likely it will be a thought, a gesture, a surprise, a sense that we should go this way and not that, that we should choose this and not that.  It is a delicate kind of listening. It takes practice.

As we follow Jesus on the inner journey, our feet will not move. This is the journey nurtured in silence, a path discovered through listening.  It is the journey inward…to that place that is not a place but grounds all other places.  This journey will keep us grounded in what we are supposed to do and keep us doing it even when it ceases to be popular. This journey will give us the fortitude and clarity to remain undeterred.  This is how we follow Jesus on the way.