Mark 11:1-4, Mark 14:1-15:47 (NRSV)
Devotion
It was a crisp, sunny Thanksgiving weekend. Winter was gently arriving. I stood in the parking lot of a funeral home with the widow and children of a man just buried. They were deep in mourning. Just then, there was the sound of a siren and the rumbling of a great fire truck with Santa perched atop the ladder. What incongruity! A triumphal entrance into the dominion of death! So it is with Palm Sunday. Jesus parades into the holy city to the shouts of “Hosanna” and a botanical ticker tape parade! But he descends the Mount of Olives into death. Triumphal entry leads to passion and crucifixion. How should we hold our faces, we who shout out of both sides of our mouths, “Hosanna—Crucify him!” As we enter upon the holiest week, may we prepare to walk the way of the cross with him. The parades can await the victory.
Prayer
Suffering God, comfort and give us courage for the valley of the shadow of death. Help us attend to the promise of Sunday beyond the grave, through Christ, the Lord of death and new life. Amen.