Making Sense Of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is a holy day for Christians. It commemorates Jesus's entry into Jerusalem about a week before his crucifixion and resurrection. The event was recorded in all four canonical gospels and has much symbolism tied to it. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, which is often associated with peace, in contrast to a king entering a city on a war horse. In many of the lands of the ancient near east, people would lay branches or their garments on the ground, covering the path for someone of the highest honor to pass through. According to the gospels, this is what the people of Jerusalem did for Jesus as he entered their city. I say all of this only to note that there's much meaning, tradition, and significance that accompanies Palm Sunday.

And still...

And still I find myself feeling a bit out of place and awkward when we distribute palms at my church and 'process' into the sanctuary on Palm Sunday, as if we were welcoming Jesus on the spot. It's not that I don't respect the significance of the historical event. I actually love the meaning behind the pomp and circumstance of it all. Yet I feel awkward, thinking that most Christians wave palm branches without understanding much of why they're doing it at all. At the least, it feels like a worn-out, obligatory tradition that has lost much of its meaning.

And my confusion is compounded by the fact that Christians also engage in plenty of other weird traditions every week, like communion, that I don't have any problems with. Many Christians take communion every week. They walk up to their pastor, take a small piece of bread, dip it into a chalice of wine, then eat it. Many of those same Christians don't really understand why they're doing it. They don't know that communion is associated with the last supper that Jesus shared with his disciples.

And still...

And still I don't have a problem with that. So what if they don't fully understand the sacrament of communion? Forgiveness doesn't have to be fully understood. That's why I'm okay with that 'tradition' in the church. So why do I find myself so agitated with Palm Sunday? By my own logic, I should get bristled about putting up a Christmas tree. What's the point of that, anyway?

So we'll wave our palms tomorrow. We'll celebrate Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And I'll feel like a goober, waving a palm around as if I've been transported back to Jerusalem two-thousand years ago. In contrast, communion still makes sense to me. Baptism still makes sense to me. There's a holiness and power in those sacraments. For those who have a difficult time forgiving themselves, these are tangible ways to receive a forgiveness that's often hard to receive. Waving palm branches seems so much more obscure and irrelevant.

Spiritual journeys are complicated. We're all looking for meaning in life. And we all find truth and meaning in different places. As I consider my own feelings and preferences, I'm reminded that we're all on a rough, messy spiritual journey that doesn't always make sense. Just like waving palm branches.