From a Parade to the Cross…

One of the blessings of living in Estes Park it that we are able to take time to simply make a quick visit to our backyard… the Rocky Mountain National Park! As we so often say to each other and to our friends, “Pinch me, we get paid to live here!” Granted, as the pastor of Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies, my schedule is anything but predictable or slow. Often times when I drive home or when I take a moment to look out of my office window, I hear Rocky calling (some days Rocky calls rather loudly!) me to come visit. Yet for us to be able to spend long periods of time hiking or snowshoeing in Rocky is a rare treat indeed. Thankfully though, thanks to my lifetime pass to the park, we can take short excursions to simply “be” in Rocky. Plus, as a local, if it is a busy day in the park for visitors, we can adjust our schedule and go when they are all heading back into town.

This picture was taken on one of those quick excursion afternoons. I had just finished a series of meetings at the church and in the community when I stopped by the condo to pick up Denise for a quick drive. We stopped at one of our favorite locations, Hollowell Trailhead just off of the Bear Lake Road. We keep saying that one of these days we are going to bring a picnic lunch up to the trailhead and simply spend time relaxing and enjoying the site. Yet even though we have’t done this yet, I am so incredibly grateful for the short visits we are able to make to this spot.

So, why the picture of a dead tree lying down on the ground for Palm Sunday you ask? Well, as I said on the bulletin cover explanation, “…the dead tree is a poignant reminder of the circle of life. I can’t imagine how Jesus felt as he rode into Jerusalem in the midst of a celebratory atmosphere, knowing that a few short days later he would be crucified.” It is the juxtaposition of a dead tree and the living trees around it that caught my imagination when I decided on this picture for the Palm Sunday Bulletin cover.

Passover… the great holy festival commemorating the night when the angel of death passed over the homes of the Hebrew slaves just prior to the Exodus from Egypt. On that night, families were charged to eat a simple meal in their travelling clothes. The ritual blood from the lamb had been spread over the door posts and lintel. As death descended upon Egypt, the Hebrew slaves were spared while the firstborn of the Egyptians right down to their animals were killed.

As you would expect, over time the commemoration and “ritual” would become rather complex and at times the original meaning may well have been lost on the people. How often does that happen to us today in both sacred and secular holidays… Memorial Day is a three day weekend… Labor day is the same… Easter has become synonymous with Spring Break… and the list goes on.

When Jesus approached Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, the city was in the midst of vast preparations for Passover. The lambs which would be slaughtered at the Temple for sacrifices were driven into the city through the very gate Jesus himself entered a short while later according to one historian. The market in the Temple where the pilgrims were supposed to be able to exchange their foreign currency for temple coin to purchase “ritually pure” animals to sacrifice was an open air market where money changers were ripping off the people with their exchange rates. All of this was happening under the watchful eye of the High Priest and his henchmen who were quietly lining their own pockets with their ill-gotten gains. That is why, shortly after arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus caught the attention of the religious establishment by cleansing the Temple in a radical and in-your-face way.

Just as Jesus would strip away the excess of what the Passover observance had become, I believe that we are sometimes called to strip away the excess of our own observances. The majority of people, when asked about memories of Palm Sunday will typically tell stories of the kids with palm branches parading into the sanctuary on Sunday morning as the choir sings “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” or another of the Palm Sunday hymns. The reality that I remember as a worship leader, was kids smacking each other with their palm branches much to the chagrin of their parents or the adult leaders in charge of the “festive” procession!

In the Ignatian way of exploring Scripture, I would like us to enter into the scene that day as Jesus and the disciples came into Jerusalem. Just recently, I re-watched Norman Jewson’s film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s Broadway play “Jesus Christ Superstar” and found myself going deeper into the plot. As I watched, I found myself looking at the scene from the perspective of Jesus and wondering what was going through his mind.

Were the words of Psalm 118 (one of the Psalms sung during the Jewish Passover liturgy) ringing in your heart, Lord? “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” (Psalm 118:19-22) The gates were indeed open, but they would quickly be closed as the cornerstone was rejected by the Temple establishment.

As the entry into Jerusalem took on the air of a festive parade, did your heart ache, Lord? Knowing that you would soon be confronting the religious establishment in their hypocrisy, was it hard to look around at all of the smiling faces? How hard it must have been, Lord, to hear the cheering voices singing “Hosanna” on that day, only to change their tune on Friday when cries of “Crucify Him” rang out instead!

Yes, the juxtaposition of the dead tree against the background of living greenery in Hollowell Park speaks loudly to me once again. Green signifies hope, spring, and rebirth after winter. The dead tree is a reminder of… death. Lord, did your gaze fall upon the Mount of Olives where you would agonize in the garden and be betrayed by Judas, whom you loved? Did your eyes behold Golgotha, the place of the skull, where you would be brutally tortured on the cross? How did you reconcile those conflicting emotions and thoughts as you rode in at the head of a parade?

Palm Sunday… Holy Week… Maundy Thursday… Good Friday… they are not simply days to be raced through on the way to Easter Sunday with its hymns of praise. These are moments to be explored and experienced. These are moments to go deeper as we attempt to see it through the mind and the heart of Jesus. Lord, help us to see this day and this week through your eyes… especially in a world that passes over the deeper thoughts and issues in favor of 30 second sound bytes.

Will you join me, dear reader, in this deeper exploration? Will you look beyond the surface and into the depths? Will you seek the light of the Lord in the midst of this present darkness? Will you be the light of the Lord in the midst of this present darkness?