Palm Sunday is the day when Jesus came to Jerusalem so he\ncould die. The disciples thought he was\ncoming to set himself up on the throne of David as king. They imagined that the kingdom of God was like\nan earthly kingdom, despite all the times that Jesus had patiently explained\nthat the kingdom of God was like yeast, like ten virgins, like anything but a\ngovernment. Despite the fact that he had washed their feet, despite the fact\nthat he had told them that the one who wanted to be great must be the servant\nof all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, Paul would write to the church in Philippi:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united\nwith Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,\nif any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by\nbeing like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do\nnothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value\nothers above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to\nthe interests of the others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In your relationships with one another, have the same\nmindset as Christ Jesus: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who, being in very nature God, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
did not consider equality with God something to be\nused to his own advantage; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
rather, he made himself nothing <\/p>\n\n\n\n
by taking the very nature of a servant, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
being made in human likeness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And being found in appearance as a man, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
he humbled himself <\/p>\n\n\n\n
by becoming obedient to death\u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:1-8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this Sunday we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus\ninto Jerusalem, when he arrived not on a prancing warhorse, but on a\ndonkey\u2014that should also have been a clue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
See, your king comes to you, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
righteous and victorious, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
lowly and riding on a donkey, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Jesus arrived on the donkey, the people threw palm\nbranches in front of them and proclaimed \u201chosanna\u201d\u2014a word that means\n\u201cSave!\u201d\u2014which is also a part of the meaning of Jesus\u2019 name: \u201c he saves.\u201d And that is precisely what Jesus came to\ndo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus\u2019 entrance into Jerusalem was triumphal, but not in the\nway that the people on that day, in that moment, imagined. He was triumphant, because he would triumph\nover sin, triumph over Satan, and triumph over death. The kingdom of God was truly at hand. But the kingdom of God is not a kingdom like\nthe world knows and understands; it is not a kingdom people easily see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What did Jesus say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of\nGod would come, Jesus replied, \u201cThe coming of the kingdom of God is not\nsomething that can be observed,nor will people say, \u2018Here it\nis,\u2019 or \u2018There it is,\u2019 because the kingdom of God is in your midst.\u201d (Luke\n17:20-21)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kingdom of God is\ninside of us, it is us collectively, it is us as God\u2019s temple now, we who can\nnow worship God in spirit and in truth, as Jesus told the Samaritan woman,\nbecause God now lives in each of us as individuals, and in all of us collectively.\nAs Jesus told his disciple in Matthew 18:20:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor\nwhere two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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