Palm Sunday Year A
Four processions: when Jesus walked into trouble
On Palm Sunday, two processions entered Jerusalem — one with Jesus on a donkey, one with Roman soldiers on war horses. When those two walks met, trouble was bound to follow.
Do you know what a procession is? We might call it a big walk.
Our Bible story today talks about a very special one that Jesus was part of, but here's the thing — there may actually have been two big walks in that same city on that same day.
The Jesus procession
The Jesus one was full of ordinary people waving branches and singing songs of praise and joy because of the amazing things Jesus had been doing and the wonderful things he'd been saying. And even the fact that he was riding a donkey, which was how their ancient stories said God's chosen king would one day enter the city.
They'd begun to think that perhaps Jesus was that king coming at last to rule the world with peace and love. Yay.
The Roman procession
The other procession looked very different.
This was a very Roman procession. The Romans had conquered the land and made themselves its rulers. Every time people started talking about God's chosen king, it sounded to them a lot like "down with the Romans."
So they also made a big walk into the city on this day, not on donkeys with songs of praise and joy — on big war horses with swords to remind everyone exactly who ruled the world.
Uh oh. I think there might be trouble when these two big walks meet, don't you?
The third walk
Sure enough, in a few days time, there will be a third big walk.
No waving palms this time, only fists. No songs of praise and joy, only Jesus and tears. Because there is Jesus walking slowly, staggering under the weight of Roman punishment because of today's first two processions.
That third one was bound to happen, wasn't it?
The fourth walk
But you know what? Because of who Jesus was, because he really was God's chosen king coming at last to rule the world with peace and love, there will be one more big walk on the Sunday at the end of this week.
Next Sunday, friends of Jesus all around the world gather to parade through the streets, singing songs of praise and joy. And hey, somehow we've come right back to celebrating again.
Whatever can have happened between that third sad big walk and this fourth happy one?
You know, we may have to come to church next Sunday to find out.
Based on an all-age Palm Sunday reflection by Rev Claire Wright