Our church puts out a Lenten devotional. My submission made it in this one here it is...
Matthew 21:9
“The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Hosanna in the highest!”
My oldest son Robert is made of pure energy. For example, he woke up at 6 a.m. this morning and by 6:15 he was literally running in circles and singing at the top of his lungs a song he’d just made up. All this was while I made breakfast on an average Monday morning. Robert loves church, he loves Jesus and he knows he wants to be his friend forever, but he really loves church. Unfortunately, his energy and my need for him to “behave” often make Sunday mornings less than joyful. There is lots of fidgeting and shushing and prompting and when he goes down for Children’s Moment I hold my breath and hope he doesn’t reveal some dreadful secret or inappropriate fact he learned on the History Channel.
But Palm Sunday is different. He lines up with all the other children in their new shoes and pastel shirts, clutches his Palm branch and for a few minutes he is free to shout and jump and generally express the joy he feels at being in church. I can’t help but think of the children in the first Palm Sunday processional. Caught up in the excitement of an impromptu parade and straining to see the man their parents have been speaking so passionately about. And then they see him and their joy is perfect. I think they recognized in him love and light and energy and a Messiah. Their joy could not be contained, “Hosanna in the highest!”
This Palm Sunday look for Robert his shirt will probably be untucked and he will certainly be loud. In his enthusiasm he may even whack another child with his wildly waving palm branch. But I will be smiling and trying to remember that church is supposed to be joyful and that he and all of his friends are teaching me something about my own faith.
Matthew 21:9
“The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Hosanna in the highest!”
My oldest son Robert is made of pure energy. For example, he woke up at 6 a.m. this morning and by 6:15 he was literally running in circles and singing at the top of his lungs a song he’d just made up. All this was while I made breakfast on an average Monday morning. Robert loves church, he loves Jesus and he knows he wants to be his friend forever, but he really loves church. Unfortunately, his energy and my need for him to “behave” often make Sunday mornings less than joyful. There is lots of fidgeting and shushing and prompting and when he goes down for Children’s Moment I hold my breath and hope he doesn’t reveal some dreadful secret or inappropriate fact he learned on the History Channel.
But Palm Sunday is different. He lines up with all the other children in their new shoes and pastel shirts, clutches his Palm branch and for a few minutes he is free to shout and jump and generally express the joy he feels at being in church. I can’t help but think of the children in the first Palm Sunday processional. Caught up in the excitement of an impromptu parade and straining to see the man their parents have been speaking so passionately about. And then they see him and their joy is perfect. I think they recognized in him love and light and energy and a Messiah. Their joy could not be contained, “Hosanna in the highest!”
This Palm Sunday look for Robert his shirt will probably be untucked and he will certainly be loud. In his enthusiasm he may even whack another child with his wildly waving palm branch. But I will be smiling and trying to remember that church is supposed to be joyful and that he and all of his friends are teaching me something about my own faith.
That was beautiful,Jen. I can totally see it. Wish I was there wearing my old Easter bonnet, pink gingham frock and white patton Mary Janes.-jen tom
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