REMEMBERING

Today is Palm Sunday. This day, which is sometimes referred to as Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week is the time when Christians revisit the events of Jesus’ last week on earth. It includes such events as his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, clearing the temple of the money changers, teaching the crowds, the Last Supper, betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, trial, crucifixion, death and burial. Quite a week to say the least!

It’s clear to see why this day is more commonly called Palm/Passion Sunday. While Jesus did make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem as palm branches were waved in salute, we now realize that he was going to his earthly death (his passion) as a sacrifice for all humankind. Palm/Passion Sunday contains the human emotions of both triumph and defeat, of joy and sorrow.

A significant part of a Christian’s devotional life includes “remembering.” We remember what God in Jesus Christ has done for us. This idea of remembering is throughout the biblical story. At the first Passover, Moses told the Israelites, “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you” (Exodus 12:14). Those of the Jewish faith still remember the Passover every year. When Jesus offered the bread to his disciples at the Last Supper, he said: “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19b). We invoke these words every time we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.

These Holy Week events remind me of that most familiar of biblical verses, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). I also am reminded of the last words that are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus said to his disciples, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

This is the week, Holy Week, when we remember what God in Jesus Christ did for us in the city of Jerusalem so very long ago.

— Steve Protor

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist