March 28, 2021 - Palm Sunday - Two Processions in Jerusalem / Choices We Will Soon Make

There was a Muppet presentation put on video by another church that was played for our Children's Time. The background was filled with palms and signs against Caesar's rule of Jerusalem.

I was reminded of a book, The Last Week by Marcus Borg. Borg stressed the importance of seeing Palm Sunday as a counter-procession to a procession that was happening on the other side of Jerusalem proclaiming Caesar as King and Son of God put on by the Romans. Identifying Jesus as the true King and Son of God was an essential message of scripture that may not be as apparent today

The question then becomes which procession do we follow in our lives? Palm Sunday is an invitation to Holy Week for everyone.

A second year observing Holy Week worship online is a reminder of the disruption that happened to Creator's story a year ago. Creator’s ongoing congregational story was disrupted because of the death of Pastor Ray, the start of the pandemic safety protocols we are now under, together with Creator’s Holy Week observances, all of which followed closely upon one another starting last March. Indeed, Creator’s first online congregational meeting was called to process the congregation’s grief over Pastor Ray. Since then we have continued some traditions, changed others, and have seen throughout this year many old social consensuses, as to what constitutes cultural and religious truth, have ended.

This is not unique to Creator. Americans overall experienced a historical dislocation that this pandemic sped up and exaggerated. We are not where we used to be culturally and religiously. Yet we cannot quite imagine where we are going to be. 

Last year the importance of having online worships that Creator hosted felt imperative. We did not even consider attending online worship that other churches were hosting. This year we will be worshiping with other congregations in observing Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and East Vigil (also called Holy Saturday). We will celebrate online Easter Sunday hosted by Creator with the confirmation of our youth who have attended confirmation.

I reflect mostly on the upcoming Easter Vigil at this moment and remember last year's worship. Creator told our own stories of our founding, our faith and history. I wonder what we will tell as our stories next year. I can't help but think the way we will be welcoming people back to physically gather together will be identity stories. How Creator balances safety and welcoming people back will be important identity statements for us. 

We are constantly choosing which procession to follow.