Balcony Protest on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday worship is always one of my favorite Sundays of the year. I don’t know why because it is so filled with paradox and misunderstanding.  Over the years, I have led processionals of children who enter the worship with palms waving, usually poking a few folks in the eye on the way down the aisle.  Baptists are finally rediscovering what fun the Episcopalians have been having all these years parading and waving wildly the palms.  We’re still a little reserved about it, however. I noticed while waving branches in the balcony yesterday that most people wave the palms a time or two during the hymn, then hide them away as soon as the music stops. We’re not quite sure what to do with palm branches.  I thought of dropping mine from the balcony and watching it twirl about on the way down, but I knew that would not be proper.

I also wanted to continue waving the branches in approval of the pastor’s sermon, or shall we say “non sermon.” Yesterday, he got rid of the robe and stole and surprised us as a character from the original Palm waving crowd.  Depicting an anonymous member of the crowd who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, he told it like it was (and perhaps is for many).  What impressed me is that (prepare for a shock!) he wore jeans and a sweat shirt, as if he were one of us on a non-Sunday morning.  Forgetting notes and avoiding the pulpit, he told us the story of the events of that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was hailed as a king.  Of course, we all knew the rest of the story pretty well, but it was good to hear from someone who was there and could explain the paradoxical events.  How is it a crowd could turn from praise to condemnation in a matter of hours, or as quickly as it takes us Baptists to hide our palm branches under the pew, or drop them from the balcony to the floor?

Palm Sunday evening I received a phone call from a member of the Church I had previously pastored.  She said, “I remember you stated in your sermon in 2003 that Palm Sunday was really a protest march!”  Wow, I didn’t know anyone was listening.  “A protest march?  I said that?” Yes, and I hope I can stand by that statement and defiantly wave my palms in protest of the many injustices that still exist these many years since the triumphant entry of Jesus.