Palm Sunday readies us for the death and resurrection of Jesus

"The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!' And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!' His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him." - John 12:12-19

As an adult and Christian, I've found Palm Sunday disturbs me when I meditate on this day. Imagine, Jesus has been teaching. He's preached to thousands, he has his group of apostles. All of these people recognize him as the messiah, they believe in Him, yet are so clueless to what is coming.

But Jesus knows.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

He knew what lay ahead even as he rode into Jerusalem that day on the donkey, riding atop branches of palm trees to shouts of "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"

Original art by author

Jesus never faltered. He knew his fate – his fate on this earth, the horror that was coming to Him and what would come to Him when he would resurrect to sit beside His Father at the throne of heaven. Glory lay ahead, but in front of it what the worse torture we could imagine.

And Jesus never succumbed to the pressures of knowing what was coming or even to when Satan tempted Him. 

He faithfully rode on that donkey on a rode lined with palm tree branches. Maybe He knew that one day all those who didn't understand what was coming or remember the prophecy of the Old Testament, would indeed remember that Palm Sunday. 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,A colt, the foal of a donkey." - Zechariah 9:9

Why do we prepare for Easter?

We spend the present-day Lenten season in study, attending Stations of the Cross, (if applicable to your religion), perhaps eating fish on Fridays, giving up something for Lent, attending church regularly - hopefully and in truth ... meditating throughout the season on what preceded the crucifixion and resurrection is what we need to study. 

To me, the most important week of Lent is the one between Palm Sunday and Easter. I don't always make it to church, but I always spend this week in reflection, study and prayer about Jesus. 

Recent movies make it easy for us to do so. Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" is one that I sobbed all the way through – but it's also one that brings to heart exactly what those last two days of Jesus' life were like. What He did for us. What he suffered for us.

And we get to go to heaven because of that suffering. We get, if we ask the Lord, announce we are sinners and accept Him into our hearts, to be relieved of our sins and we are - what is often termed - "born again."

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." 
- Ephesians 2:8

Entering Holy Week

As the child of an Episcopal minister, I clearly remember my father's preparations for Easter during Lent and during Holy Week. My father was originally an evangelical preacher in his early years (1937-1951) and so much of that went into his services in the Episcopal Church throughout his life.

We ate fish on Tuesdays and Fridays in my childhood Lenten days. We gave up something for lent - it always had to do with food. 

However, that week before Easter is a busy one for a minister. Often there are nowadays Ministerial Alliances that offer prayer and luncheons or perhaps prayers and breakfast. These are a wonderful way to connect with the Spirit during this week of weeks if your schedule permits.

Maundy Thursday is not recognized by all religions, but it was by my Dad and he always had a service. Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the Last Supper. The last night Christ spent with his apostles - they had that "supper" he washed the feet of his disciples, he first announced the first communion - the bread and the wine - His body and blood.

After the Last Supper, Jesus led his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed and implored His disciples to remain awake and pray with Him. 

Again, they were clueless about what was coming and slept. Jesus prayed fervently for God to take the cup of what was coming away from Him. But in the end, He also knew He would walk in faith and not disobey His Father.

More on this as we proceed into Holy Week.

God's Promise for Us

As we enter this Holiest of Weeks, study, read on God's word. It doesn't matter what religion you are, from what walk of life you are. It matters only that you quench that thirst for His word. Relieve that itch that you've had all your life for Him. We ALL have it.

Study and prepare. You can accept Christ at any time and be forgiven if you let Him into your heart. That's where the Lord can see and know you have accepted and believed. Once you have done this – you will be compelled to change your life, to follow Christ to be a better person.

Again, it doesn't matter who you are, what sins you've committed in the past, what your present cultural background is, what religion you presently believe in.

The gift of salvation is free and available to every human.

Remember ... He KNOWS YOUR NAME!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16