Palm Sunday – at least the original Palm Sunday – was quite clearly a political action. So celebrate it this weekend by speaking out against an unjust war. (Click here to find a peace vigil near you.)
On that first Palm Sunday, Jesus was leading a rally, a march, on the capitol and the seat of power of his world. Jesus, who was always attuned to the importance of symbol and story, rodes in on a donkey to remind the people of the messianic prophecy: “look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey.”
The crowds responded in kind: “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Or, “save us, liberate us, set us free from the tyranny of our time!”
This is radical, even revolutionary stuff, and it is inherently political. But at the same time it is spiritually transformative as well. The turning of the world implicit in this entry to Jerusalem is at once deeply personal and thoroughly social and political, and the action itself – the marching, the crowds, the shouting and singing – is a spiritual practice.
Every spiritual practice aims to draw us closer to God, to help us experience God’s presence and to be shaped by that experience for lives of discipleship. So get close to God this Palm Sunday weekend by taking it to the streets.
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