Palm Sunday, the day of rejoicing because our Savior has come riding on a donkey whose steps are not permitted to land on the bare ground but on the cloaks of men and women who find themselves finally able to breathe great sighs of relief. Hope has come. Hope is real. Hope will prevail.
We are certain that Jesus, as our Messiah, will overthrow our twisted government and establish a kingdom as in the days of King David. Our new king has arrived, a king who will set us free from our oppressors, a king who will bring riches and glory, a king who will bring justice, a king who will stand up for our “rights”.
From the moment of his triumphal entry into our lives, Jesus has cultivated a hope for change. He challenged the way we think. He showed us truly amazing things and revealed much about the character and love of God. Every action, every word made space for the Kingdom of God to be established.
Anyone can sense that we are at the cusp of something big. The course of history can change for the better. Each breath is inhaled with the anticipation that the next breath will usher in the freshness of a new kingdom.
But then hope died alongside two delinquents on the hill that we now call Calvary. Hope, as it grew in our hearts with Jesus’ entry into our lives was uprooted. All seems lost.
What a tease.
Of course, we all know the end of the story; we know that hope is resurrected and available for the taking. But let’s be real. In our own stories, it is often difficult to trust that hope can spring forth from the ashes of the things for which hope was initially born. We think it unfair that hope be granted to us only to be snatched away by circumstance. How can we trust a God who seems to tease us so?
But then we must face ourselves and that which we anchored our hope. Perhaps, like the men and women who waived their palm branches, we have misunderstood what hope He endeavored to bring to us. Perhaps we would never see or understand that He has come to establish His Kingdom in our hearts and minds if we clung to the hope that He would bring change to the things that have caused us frustration. Perhaps it was necessary for this hope to be uprooted so that the hope of Kingdom Come could truly take root, grow and flourish at the revelation of the King who came to save us first and foremost from our sin and shame.
This Palm Sunday, be not deceived. Celebrate the coming of a King who will establish a Kingdom in which fear holds no power. A Kingdom in which the King chooses to reign with the power of love rather than the power of manipulation and terror. A Kingdom in which the King cherishes His people enough to dwell among them and make Himself available to them (us). A Kingdom in which the broken are made new and whole by the mercy of a loving King.
This is hope. It is here. And it is still coming.
anothervapor 