Reflections on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday.  The day we shout "Hosanna!"  The day we give praise to the Savior.  The day we realize, that Jesus is not just an ordinary man, but something much more.  We shout as loudly as we can, with as much emotion as we can possibly muster.  But, by Friday, just as passionately, we are shouting "crucify him!" 

I say we, because it is we who put the nails in his hands.  It is us, you and I, who hung him on the cross.  It is us who spat in his face.  It is us, in need of his grace.  It is you, it is me.

Palm Sunday-Hosanna!

How is it that on Sunday we can praise him?  Praise him to the point that we are as the Rev. describes it, "wildly chopping palm branches down."  We take off our coats and lay them on the dirty, dusty ground so that a donkey, an animal can walk over them.  How is it that on Sunday we praise him and by Friday we despise him?

I'm not sure, but whether we admit or not, we all do it.  Sure, we may not feel as if we despise him, but our actions say otherwise.  We gossip, we hate, we envy.  We keep the bountiful blessings He gives us to ourselves.  "It is my time, it is my money," we say.  I am as guilty as the next. 

We look at history, at the Holy Week in scriptures and pretend that we would not have been one of the traitors.  We pretend that we would not be one of "those people" who praised Him and then hated Him.  We do this in the same way we blame the Israelites for complaining about manna, all while impatiently waiting for the latest Facebook updates to load on our smartphones. 

Sinners, traitors, jealous and impatient, we are.  Not one of us deserves it, but all who ask receive it.  The gift of Grace.  The beautiful, incomprehensible gift of Grace.  Grace that we fail to extend to others, but continue to receive from the Father.

Today I watched my sweet boy and sweet girl exuberantly wave their palm branches and sing.  But, I know they too, are human.  They are sinful and as they age, as they learn to cope in this broken world, they will too, will despise him through their actions.  It breaks my heart to think of that.  It puts a knot in the pit of my stomach.  You see, Jesus came for me, for which I am eternally grateful, but he came for my children too, and as a mother that strikes an even deeper cord within me.

So, as Little E and KJ grow, as they turn their backs on Christ daily, just as the rest of us do, I also know that the story does not end there.  Because the week continues and culminates into a glorious ending.  They are, you are and I am saved.  Not because of our actions, but in spite of them.  And that, my friends, is worth shouting for.

Blessed Palm Sunday!

First Steps and More Old Dead Guys.

The Prairie Parsonage now has four out of four family members who can walk!  Our little KJ decided to take her first steps while I was making dinner a few weeks ago.  For a girl with a set of lungs, her first steps were dainty and cautious, as if she wasn't sure what would happen if she put one foot in front of the other.  It was almost uncharacteristic of her.  In fact, it was the first time I really saw her be cautious of anything (this is a girl who body slam wrestles the rest of the family-cautious is not really in her nature).

This new found talent of walking has not come without a cost though.  She has a scrape on her face from a fall against the toy box and wails were heard throughout the county as she fell again this afternoon.  She is learning and falling is part of it.  If she doesn't step out in faith, with a few stumbles along the way, then she will never learn to walk.  She is learning that her legs do have the strength to hold her up and that putting one foot in front of the other does in fact get her to where she wants to go. 

It makes me think of Pascal's Wager.  Blaise Pascal is another old dead guy that occassionally gets mentioned around the Prairie Parsonage.  And yes, my pastor husband does think it is attractive when I throw Pascal's quotes around like I actually know what I am talking about.  Pascal was apparently a brainiac because not only was he a philospher, but also a mathmetician and physicist.  Personally, I think that a person should only be allowed one area of expertise, but that's just my opinion.  Little E has some new superhero underwear that he wears with pride.  Which superhero to wear on which day is quite a decision.  To me, Blaise Pascal having the superpowers of insane knowledge philosophy, math, and physics is just plain wrong.  But, I digress.

Mr. Pascal, the real Superman, came up with an argument called Pascal's Wager.  This wager was a big deal, not just because what it said, but because it blazed new trails with probability theory and decision theory.  But, for me, what the argument actually said is what is most important.

Pascal's Wager is this.  If you believe in God, you gain all of eternity.  If God doesn't exist, but you believe in Him, you have lost nothing.  But, if you don't believe in God and He does exist, then you will spend eternity in hell- you have lost everything.  So basically, believing in God is the best bet.  It is the best wager.  Pascal puts it like this, "If you gain, you gain all.  If you lose, you lose nothing.  Wager then, without hesitation that He exists."  (www.brainyquotes.com)

So, like little KJ, we sometimes need to step out if faith.  If she had never tried to walk, she would miss out on a lifetime of running, skipping, and jumping.  She would never know the joy of doing all the things that most children do.  In the end, she would have lost out.

I know that most of you reading this blog probably already know Christ.  But, some of you don't.  If not, my question is this.  Why?  What do you have to lose by choosing Him?  Because if you do choose Christ, you will have an eternity of walking side by side with your Maker.

It is my prayer that little KJ will someday use her steps on the other side of heaven, throwing caution to the wind and run straight into the arms of her savior.  And it is my prayer that you will believe in God, the safe bet, and are able to join her too.

Blessings to you!

I can walk!

P.S. If you are reading this, please pray for the Collins and Cook families from Evansdale, IA.  Their little girls have been missing since Friday.  Thanks.