Barneyisfat

On a lovely Palm Sunday morning, I can't get the Christmas nor the Easter story out of my head. Triumphant entry? My sunday school teacher equated the Palm Sunday entry to a New York "ticker-tape" parade. He claimed that it was a parade "the likes of which the world had never seen before and would never see again." Well, I don't believe that. The teacher said that when people were laying down their cloaks it was their only clothes and it was a big sacrifice. But, it was on a Donkey that Jesus rode into the city. They laid down their cloaks for a donkey to step on. They waved palm branches, so caught off guard that the only thing they could find to welcome the Messiah was leaves.

I think of the birth narrative, I can't imagine why, and after some thought I remember that it was in a stable that he was born. The savior of all mankind in humility and poverty both enters the world and Jerusalem in less than spectacular circumstances. Triumphant entry? Maybe. He was celebrated at his entry. When He entered the world the shepherds came running to see the King. When he entered Jerusalem it was most likely the poor who waved palm branches and disrobed for a more comfortable path for the Messiah's donkey.

We know, and Christ knew at the time, what was going to happen on Friday. The little parade they had for Jesus that day was probably smaller than the one the Roman soldiers threw for Jesus on Friday. No one took off his or her cloak to make the path more comfortable for Christ that day. A beast of burden had carried Christ on Sunday, but on Friday Christ would carry the burden. There would be no palm branches on Friday, just the palms of our messiah with nails being driven through them. No comfort, no celebration, and little hope. The people who had cried out "Hosannah!" would now cry out "Crucify Him!".

A God of the unexpected. Who would expect the Messiah would be born in a shanty barn? Why would the Messiah enter Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a great animal of power? Why would our Savior have to die? We worship a God of the unexpected.

Today, I reflect not only on the Triumphant entry of our Savior into Jerusalem, but on his entry into the world and my heart. Jesus entered the world in a stable, a stinking barn. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Jesus enters a heart full of sin and filth. We have a God who isn't afraid to be humble and who is capable of entering through humble means places that don't deserve his presence. Triumphant? Maybe. Humble? Definetly.