Palm Sunday 2026

Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year. During this week, we get the Triumphal Entry, my beloved table-flipping Jesus, the Via Dolorosa, Calvary’s Cross, The Seven Last Words, the crucifixion and the resurrection. Though I failed to complete my Lenten Devotional reading, and my fasting was non-existent, there is something about the week leading up to Easter that stirs my soul.

I was a wreck last Easter, and for good reason. People who know me in real life know that I am still in a season of profound grief. In spite of that, on Saturday night, I started singing hymns. I willed myself to an 11:00am Sunday service at a Baptist church and I stayed until benediction. I was a little bothered that nobody said Hosanna today, but I made sure that I did before I left the sanctuary.

This Palm Sunday, instead of focusing on the crowd or even the chorus (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!), my heart is drawn to the colt. The colt was minding its own business, not bothering anybody, when out of nowhere, Jesus called. This is a major disruption. This is not what the colt has been trained for. This is not what the colt had planned to do with its life…and yet. What can you say when you hear the words, “The Lord hath need of him (or her).” I believe Jesus believed in equal opportunity.

So many of God’s preachers and prophets were just like that colt. They were out in the world doing their own thing, when they were called into ministry. They resisted. Folks around them objected. Yet, not even the wiliest of them could escape God’s call, and when it was all over, it was their job to carry Jesus into the city/church house/mission field.

I wonder about the people who threw their cloaks and palm leaves on the road. They had heard a great prophet, and a conquering hero was coming to town. Instead, of a prince on his Royal steed, they got a carpenter on a colt. HE wasn’t what they were expecting. He was, however, what they needed.

The road to Jerusalem was rocky. The terrain was uneven, and yet the colt marched steadily onward. I’d like to believe that the cloaks and the palms made the road a little softer under its hooves, and I wonder what we can do to make the path a little bit smoother for those in our own lives who are tasked with carrying the weight of God’s word into the city? What can I personally put down to make their job a little less hard?

That’s my question for all of us on Palm Sunday. What can we do to make it easier for our spiritual leaders? Are there old attitudes and bitterness we need to toss aside? Should we lay down some of our expectations? Should we do as the Lord commanded, ” Loose them and let them go?” Could we take some of the weight off their shoulders and carry it ourselves? (Surely the pastors and priests aren’t the only ones who ought to be carrying Jesus into the city. I’m a Baptist after all, and I believe in the priesthood of all believers.)

What if the day is not just about waving palms, but actually using what’s in the palms of our hands to make life easier for someone else? I wonder as I wander.