Here is the back page for the Palm Sunday Bulletin (Sunday, March 25, 2018, Year B) for Fishkill United Methodist Church.
I heard a comment a while back that said that at the very moment Jesus was entering Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, Pontius Pilate was entering on the other side of the city. The contrast in the two parades is obvious.
On one side of the city, Pilate, the Roman political and military governor, no doubt astride a beautiful white stallion, entered the city, accompanied by a massive display of military power, all designed to remind the people that they were a conquered and enslaved people.
On the other side of the city, Jesus entered on a young donkey cheered by people who saw him as the liberator from the very military and political power on display on the other side of the city.
We know how this will all play out. By the end of the week, the political, religious, and military establishment will have exercised their power and the status quo will remain. All those who cheered for Jesus on Sunday will be calling out for his crucifixion on Friday, seeing him as a failure to fulfill the mission they thought he was undertaking.
But Jesus’ mission was never about this day; it was about next Sunday. Over the next few days, the status quo will be, first, challenged, and then changed.
We celebrate Palm Sunday because we know that the world is going to change in a few days. We celebrate Palm Sunday because we understand that our lives change when we make the conscious decision to let Jesus Christ become our Savior. We celebrate because, through Christ, we are no longer an enslaved and oppressed people. We celebrate because we can help bring the freedom of God’s Kingdom to this world.
~~Tony Mitchell
The “back page” will be taking a hiatus during the Season of Easter. We will be using other materials for the back page and I will be focusing on some other writing projects.
Thoughts From The Heart On The Left 