Holy Week 2014: Palm Sunday

NOTE: Even though it clearly says "faith" in the description of my blog, I get a little skittish when it comes to writing about matters of faith. I don't want to offend anyone and I want you to like me.  That statement is fraught with dysfunction.  However, part of healing from depression and anxiety is accepting myself the way I am...and I am a Christian...a fact that effects all facets of my life.  So, I am going to blog about Holy Week and it's implications for my life and faith...and you can read it...or not.

PALM SUNDAY:

Until I started attending my current church, I never really celebrated Palm Sunday.  I mean, the pastor might have SAID it was Palm Sunday, but that just meant that is was a week until Easter.  At our current church, they appreciate a little clumsy theatrical exercise.

Usually, attenders trickle into the sanctuary as they arrive at church. Before service, on this day, the congregation is all corralled in the gallery/foyer and not allowed to enter the sanctuary.  The worship leader begins a song and leads everyone into the sanctuary all together. As the people enter, they must walk through a crowd of people waving palm branches and shouting the words from the New Testament Triumphal Entry accounts..."Hosanna!" "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!".

Though it seems cheesy and strange at first bash, if I allow myself to "go there", this little drama can create an interesting and emotional space to learn and connect with God. I have now had the opportunity to both be part of the shouting crowd and the congregation walking through it.  Both positions have left an impression on me that brings me closer to Jesus.

As a person walking through the branches to find my seat, I had to fight back tears.  It is humbling and uncomfortable to walk through people shouting adulation..  I can't help but think of the pain that was in Jesus' heart as He heard people clamoring exuberantly for His kingship...He knew they didn't mean what they were saying...at least not the way the Father had planned for it to happen. He had to humbly ride through this mass of fans...when He knew that in order to be King, He would have to die a violent, shameful death ...and the people in this crowd would DEMAND it.

As a person waving branches and shouting Hosanna!, I had to fight back tears. As a 21st century American I have very little context for that level of worship. Celebrity obsession is the closest I can come to drawing a parallel to the spectacle that occurred when Jesus rode His donkey into Jerusalem. Even though I am a believer, I can't imagine having such a strong belief in a flesh and blood person that I ran into the streets to cheer him on.  Participating in a reenactment helps me put myself in the shoes of the people in the crowd.  I wonder what they were thinking...feeling.  Did they really believe or were they caught up in a frenzy?  What would I have done?  Why would I have done it?

I love that my church is comfortable with the awkwardness of simulating the Triumphal Entry.  They are aware of the weirdness and the tension and discomfort that it creates in the hearts of people. Sometimes we have to let go of our grown up "dignity" and get a little caught up in the moment to find a new way to relate to God.  Palm Sunday provides that opportunity.