Our Rector’s Page

Many years ago, in a place far, far away, our Lord found Himself in a situation whereby the forces against Him were intensifying, indeed, closing in and the threat to His life was real. In the midst of that, He decided to present Himself in the context of an ancient prophecy. Anyone watching the experience, would know exactly what He was saying, even without Him speaking. He made all the preparations to ride into the city on a donkey.

Some would say that what we know as Palm Sunday was just a parade of a political candidate, announcing His candidacy or was He informing the people that He was willing to lead them in the midst of challenging times. What they knew is what we know: they needed Jesus…and so do we. Jesus was offering Himself as the Messiah. All this leads to the question, How does the scripture speak to us in the context of Palm Sunday because you and I know that it was so much more.

For this to become a real, relevant and revitalizing scripture, we need to consider the imagery of Jesus riding into the city to announce that He was the spiritual leader that they were waiting for. Could we consider Jesus arriving in our lives as He arrived in the city to offer the gift of love, grace, and mercy? In the same way that He arrived at the gates of the city entrance, there are many gates in our lives that we can choose to open including our hearts, minds, and interpersonal relationships.

We begin with the simple question of, “how are things with my soul?” followed by where and when will I allow Jesus “in”? In what ways do I want to experience the Lord during this Easter season?

There are so many aspects or our lives that are in need of His love and acceptance…so many places and spaces that need His healing touch. As one theologian put it, “our Lord enters through any one of these gates and is claiming to be Lord in the city of our lives”. Palm Sunday is the opportunity to either quietly accept that Jesus is working on an issue or situation in our lives, or to truly declare “Hosannah!” Every one of us will respond differently but in some way or another, we will find ourselves serving Him in a new way. I invite you this Palm Sunday to attend worship and experience the relevancy of Palm Sunday in your life.

Blessings,

Stephen