Grimly Optimistic

Lections: Palm Sunday of the Passion , AD 2026 A Homily: Lord, we pray for the preacher, for you know his sins are great. Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. It’s all come to a head now. After some three and a half years of Jesus preaching, teaching, healing the sick, working wonders, and generally upsetting the powers that be, the hopes and fears surrounding His ministry have finally reached critical mass. John tells us that this happens due to Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, in a very public and spectacular fashion, before crowds of mourners gathered from Jerusalem. Now, as He approaches Jerusalem, frenzied crowds come out to greet Him, throwing cloaks and palm branches before Him, hailing Him as King and Son of David, crying out, “Hosanna!” which means, “Save us, we pray!” And this of course is all illegal. This could very well get the crowd killed, even the children, who take up the cry in the Temple. Rome w...