Palm Sunday. A lot happens on Palm Sunday. Over the years, I’ve
read several posts and heard several preachers talk about the lectionary’s loss
of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. One of those critics has been Steve Pankey, who
rightly observes that the lectionary has acceded to the reality of church-going
life by lumping all of the Passion story into Palm Sunday. We used to be able
to wait until Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to hear those parts of the story
(Last Supper, Betrayal, Crucifixion, and Death), but things get sped up now
because too few people are in church throughout Holy Week. (That fact isn’t
helped by the local school system’s decision to make Spring Break the same as
Holy Week—a death knell for clergy with children who won’t get a Spring Break
this year.)
Yesterday, Steve reblogged something he read on Lay Down Your Nets. It’s a good article,
and you can read it here. For me, it reinforced the powerful image of Jesus
coming into Jerusalem—a story we miss if we omit the reading before the
blessing of the palms (which many churches do). Palm Sunday is supposed to be
about palms. We’re supposed to cry out, “Hosanna!” We’re supposed to bring our
palm branches and lay them on the road that leads into Jerusalem.
Except this year.
Has anyone noticed that there are no palms in Luke’s accountof the triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Instead of leafy branches, the people put
their coats and garments on the road to keep the dust down. So what does that
make this Sunday—Coat Sunday?
Sure, the image of palms being laid on the road is strong
enough to overcome Year C’s palm-free text. But this seems to be a particularly
good year to sing “Ride on, ride on,” the first stanza of which concludes with the
phrase, “thy humble beast pursues his road with palms and scattered garments
strowed.” For me, this year we’re celebrating Scattered Garments Sunday. And I’m
curious how that changes things.
What are we bringing to the dusty road? Are we clipping some
shrubbery from our neighbor’s yard and lining the streets with branches? Or are
we scattering the path with the coats off our backs? The latter seems more
costly to me. It seems more self-giving. It seems like the kind of think we
would do for a king and not just an icon of pop-culture. When Justin Timberlake
visits Decatur, we cordon off the sidewalks to keep the crowds back, but no one
(at least I hope no one) bows with reverence and casts his or her jacket on the
street as a sign of obedience.
We have a part to play in the Passion Story. And it’s not
just yelling out the chilling words, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” during the dramatic
reading of the gospel. We start on the dusty road. We start by taking off our
coat and throwing it on the road in front of the king who enters the holy city.
Courageous. I'm curious also, please post your experience about Scattered Garments Sunday.
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