Last week our Sunday School kids made a "palm of palms" as their craft for the day. So cute! All those little hands forming a palm of praise to God.
Of course those who were waving those original palms got it all wrong. Jesus was not the kind of king they were looking for. He went to the cross, not the throne. What kind of king is that?
Looking at the palm of palms, the child-like faith that went into it, I wonder how wrong they really were. Most likely no more off in their faith than the rest of us. We worship what we can of God. We worship what we know, what we grasp at any given moment. It is always a child-like faith, always a bit naive, always missing something of who God is. That is the beauty and the mystery of it all.
They wanted God to save them. And God did. Not the way they expected or even wanted. I suppose the question I have to ask myself on this side of Palm Sunday is whether or not I'm still willing to worship that kind of God. A God that I want to save me, to rescue me, to take away the frustration and suffering of this world. A God who has brought more salvation than I could ever imagine... yet not in the way I expected or even wanted. Yes, there was the resurrection, but before that was the cross. The cross... we wear them around our neck, hang them on our walls, raise them up in our churches... but do we really worship the God of the cross?
T
4 comments:
I love the palm branches made of hands. I'm sending the idea to our children's director! And, this post is really summary of what I'm preaching tomorrow JoAnn! What a gift that when we shout "Hosanna...God save us" our God knows exactly what we need saving from...thanks. Happy Easter.
I like them too....maybe they'll show up in Sweden and PA next year!
Wow! T
Thought provoking!
Beautiful blog. I am a Sunday school teacher in India and thank you for this lovely idea for palm Sunday... what a lovely blog too...God bless
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