Doomed To Repeat It

Palm Sunday gets a lot of credit in the church, but it seems like a pretty strange event to celebrate. As far as the Christian calendar goes it comes in on the top five list of our favorite events every year. We get extra people in the pews and everyone has fun making those cute little crosses out of palms.

The whole thing breaks down like this: Jesus shows up in Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11) fulfilling prophecy by riding on a donkey and ready to force the issue. A ton of people see Jesus coming and they start freaking out. They're excited for a savior to come in and start shaking up the place. Everyone takes off their jackets and lays them out on the street ahead of Jesus (sort of like a gentleman spreading his coat over a muddy path for a lady). After his donkey ride Jesus checks out the Temple and heads back to Bethany.

To give a little bit of background I should mention that the people spreading out their clothes and shouting at the tops of their lungs were Jews. The Jews have not had a ton of luck historically and this chapter in their story is really no different. Those pesky Romans were currently using the people of Judea as their personal punching bags. Things were really no fun for the Jews. Imagine a bunch of people from another country moving into your town and taking over. Lame.

This whole Romans-dominating-the-Jews thing is where we get the saying, "go the extra mile". See, there was a rule that said that if a Roman soldier came along and told you to carry his backpack for a mile, you had to do it. It didn't matter how busy you were or which direction you were headed in, if a Roman soldier told you to carry his pack you had to it. Pretty lame rule. The Romans are starting to sound like bullies, right? So why do we say "go the extra mile"? It seems like going that first mile would stink enough as it is. Well, Jesus shows up on the scene and starts telling people that when you want to scream, that's when you sing. When you want to just reach out and knock someone in the teeth, that's when you hug them. When you want to throw the backpack down on the ground and tell the Roman guy exactly what he can do with it, that's when you go the extra mile. As a rule, the God thing to do is nearly always contradictory to what we want to do initially. It's all turn the other cheek type stuff.

Let's put it all together. The Jews are being oppressed by the Romans. Clearly, everyone is pretty angry about the situation. The Jews have been reading for years in their scriptures that one day a savior would come. A savior that would free them from their oppressors. A savior that would ride into town on a donkey. Jesus fits the bill and everyone starts getting really excited. They wanted Jesus to save them from their oppressors. They wanted Jesus to save them from their problems. Only one problem: that's not what Jesus was there to do.

Oh sure, Jesus was on a rescue mission - just not the type these people were after. Jesus was there to save them from themselves. He was there to save them from their own selfish ambitions, from their sins, and ultimately, from hell. Jesus was a lot more interested in these people's eternities than in their temporary situation under Roman rule.

Now here's why I think it's so weird we keep celebrating Palm Sunday: it's a retelling of our own sad story with Jesus. Each one of us has looked to Jesus and told him what we want to be. We've prayed to Him and told Him how to behave, how to perform. We've done our best to put our strings on Him and make our own little Jesus puppet. Just like those people on that road to Jerusalem two thousand years ago we're getting loud and excited over the Jesus we want, but not the Jesus He is.

Think about it. In only a week these same people are screaming just as loudly for Jesus to be killed.

Sometimes it doesn't take us nearly that long to turn on Jesus.

There's one big reason I believe we need to take Jesus as He is and that is that He's always done so for us. Jesus always takes us as we are. He doesn't ask us to be someone else. He doesn't force us into some mold before He'll love us and accept us. He always does. And what's so strange about it is that we're not all that great! We do horrible things, we think horrible thoughts, we treat people in horrible ways. And yet He loves us as we are. On the other hand, Jesus does wonderful things, all His thoughts are wonderful, and He treats people wonderfully. And we still find it so hard to love Him as He is.

Maybe we need to keep Palm Sunday around after all. Not as a celebration, but as a reminder of a loving Savior that takes us as we are and as a somber push in the right direction to love Him as He is.