Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, March 29, 2026
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Final four
The tattered little man rides his donkey,
as if a king.
Onlookers humor us. “Hail!,” they laugh,
pouring another beer.
He is the farthest from their minds.
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But he is not far from their hearts.
He is in there, calmly enduring our evil,
the raggedy dreamer
peacefully overpowering the world’s deep sickness.
He is in there, enthroned in our broken depths,
his spirit rising in the worst of us,
smiling, with light in his eyes.
He is in there, laughable,
standing firm amidst all that is wrong with the world,
still loving, still undefeated.
Nothing, not the most powerful armies
or heartless tyrants, nor the most profound evil
or the forces of death itself, can stop him
from putting an arm around your shoulder.
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This is his reign, our ridiculous king,
still wounded, bearing his cross,
still rising from the grave,
raising us out of ours,
defeating our evil before we begin,
conferring upon us by divine decree
his perfect, gentle blessing,
giving us life that nothing can conquer
and—if we will receive it—
the grace to be faithful subjects
The sun shines bright on the windows of our home, birds sing and frolic in the air. Cherry blossoms beginning to bloom, daffodils bowing in the breeze, Siberian squill bursting out and crocuses, early as usual, bloom, freeze and bloom again.
Today we’ll wave palms and shout hosanna. Welcome, Jesus!
And grab your hat,
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
On the sunny side of the street
Rarely do we celebrate. But this morning we drink down a double shot of joy, and emotions swirl through body and soul, carrying us from the earth to the heavens. On this particular Palm Sunday, the Illini basketball team will land at Willard Airport and a mass of folks who love them will lift up signs and songs and cheers, and I expect there will also be some waving palm leaves.
Jesus will be there too, I’m sure, although we may not see him or put our fingers in his wounds. Why wouldn’t he be there? He loves us, all of us, and wants us all to know. Jason Epperson, pastor at C-U Church, is chaplain of the team. His sermons inspire me, and I’m sure his prayers inspire Kylan, Keaton, Tomi, Vlad, Andrej, Jake, David, Ben.
Chris and Jack Sandel made last-minute plans to see the games in Houston. With Andi and her family’s help with car, food, hospitality and beds, everything worked. From Urbana, we felt so proud of them and how they shared everything with each other. Jack and Chris even worked in an official college tour of McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin.
The Illini won! We are looking for orange final four t-shirts, just like the ones we found in 2005. And in the photos and videos they sent us we heard the boys quickly getting hoarse, shouting hallelujah. In 2005 our last Final Four team played in St. Louis … this year they will head for Indianapolis. And I imagine caravans of honking cars filled with crazy fans, all dressed in orange and blue.
The Romans carry swords and look so angry. But this morning joy seems to fill the streets.
Jesus’ disciples, they don’t quite know what to do. They must want not to make a scene, keep Jesus under wraps, protect him from arrest. But does he care? Doesn’t seem like it. He’s riding on a donkey, waving, smiling, talking to the children who scatter all around him. Jesus loves the little children of the world. “Peace on earth and glory in the highest!”
We can feel God’s arms surround us. We’re all his kids, sheep of his pasture, no one gets left out. This is the day that the Lord has made, and God’s family tree includes us all.
The Romans are coming, the Romans are coming! Can’t you quiet all this down? Jesus laughs in his infectious joy, “Of course not! Even the rocks are crying out.” Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Passover is coming. In the evening, Jesus will pass around the bread and wine. Take this and share it among yourselves. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, and it will be shed for you.” Prepare for our second parade, this one to Golgotha.
Not now, not yet. Not sitting in the morning sun, not while all of us rejoice, not while the light shines bright. The bridegroom is here, and the wedding feast is ready. We must celebrate today. God is good! All the time! We know that our redeemer lives.
Wait for it. There is no hurry to get to tomorrow. It will get here on its own.
These stories we tell each other about your life, we share them with love, with laughter, pain and grief. I watch your sweet surrender, Lord, at first to hugs and kisses, later to the jailer’s whip. Never ever leave us, Lord. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Can we capture now for always?
(Matthew 21, Isaiah 50, Psalm 22, Philippians 2, Matthew 26-27)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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