From Palms to Passion, staying with the story.

 The story begins in the street.
There are palms in the air, voices rising, a crowd gathering with energy and urgency. People are shouting, “Hosanna!” Save us!  It feels like a parade, but it is more than that. It is a collective public moment. A unified cry. A movement filled with hope.

Palm Sunday was not only a celebration. It was a confrontation. A protest. A disruption. It was a moment when hope got loud, and the systems of power began to push back.  And then… the story turned. The cheers quieted. The urgency slowed. The journey Jesus began in the streets leads us into the garden, a place of fear, prayer, and hard choices. Here, everything begins to change.

This is why a Sunday of Palms to Passion matters.  Because we are not choosing to skip from parade to resurrection.  We are choosing to sit in the tension.   
The question these stories ask of us is not only what happened back then, or what they did in that moment.  The question is: what happened next, and what do we do now?  How do we respond?

Holy Week unfolds like a kind of choreography, or a symphony, with distinct movements that carry us from one emotional landscape to another. It begins with “Hosanna in the highest!” but it does not stay there. The story keeps moving into uncertainty, into intimacy, into fear, into betrayal, into grief.
From “Surely not I, Lord?” to “Take, eat; this is my body.” to “Let this cup pass from me.” to
“I do not know the man.” to “Let him be crucified.” to “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
And finally, after all of it:   “He is not here.”

This is not a simple story. It is an encapsulated journey.  It is a story full of emotion, full of change, full of movement. And today, let us resist the temptation to rush past the hard parts in order to get to the good news. Instead, let's practice staying with the story, even when it becomes uncomfortable, even when it asks something of us.  

Because this isn't' just an inspiring parade story from long ago.  It encourages everyone march. To begin a movement. Of people choosing love, justice, and peace. People willing to raise their voices, to embody hope, and to keep going even when the road becomes difficult.  Palm Sunday reminds us that faith is not passive. It is participatory. It is the first act that calls us into the story.  

Palm Sunday is only where the story begins.  The story is still unfolding.  And we are witness to it and a part of it now. 

A Prayer for Palm Sunday written by Rev. Sarah Speed
Holy One, 
Give us the strength to live like the crowds that day in Jerusalem.
Where they held palm branches,
may we hold a hand out to our neighbor.
Where they cried 'Hosanna,'
May we cry out for justice.  May we cry out with joy. 
Where they laid down their coats,
may we lay down our resources
our energy, our creativity, and our time,
so that we can build your promised day here and now.
We do not want to simply talk about our faith.
We want to act on it, so may this prayer be the first step.  Amen