Palm Sunday Meditation
by Dave Gillogly
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem for a week that forever changed the course of history and the course of the lives of all believers for all time. He rode in as only he would, not on a king’s stallion, and not even on a full-grown mule, but on the foal of a donkey, a yearling donkey!
All four gospels record the scene (Mathew 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 19:28 and John 12:13), but they only give it a few lines as a small part of the story of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem for his triumphant final week. Yet to have been there must have been an unforgettable event. Would you like to have been there? Let’s go then, in our imaginations.
As we have read and prayed through the Psalms together this year, we have been encouraged to build the habit of meditating on what we’ve read. I would like to offer a guided meditation for our remembrance of Palm Sunday. If you care to join me, please read the verses listed above, then we’ll begin.
Let’s put ourselves in the crowd on the road to Jerusalem that day and experience the whole celebratory scene.
Take your time, don’t rush.
Get comfortable wherever you’re reading this, preferably in a quiet, private place. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly and feel your whole body sink into your bed or chair. Just completely relax.
Now close your eyes and imagine standing by that road into Jerusalem. Again, take your time imagining the scene and inserting yourself there.
See the people. Hear the babble of the crowd as they wait. Feel the sun on your face. Look at the palm branch you hold in your hand. Glance down the road to see what is happening.
Listen to the crowd in the distance: “Hosanna! Praise to the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Hear the shouts slowly grow closer.
Lean into the road and see Jesus on a donkey walled in on each side by the clamouring people.
See people reach out to touch his clothes or his hand.
As he draws near, watch yourself lay down your palm branch for his donkey to step on.
Now he is right in front of you. See his face, his soft smile, his eyes.
You reach out to him and feel his hand brush your fingertips.
See his eyes meet yours…feel his love pour into you.
Feel your body warm with his love.
Whisper a prayer to yourself, “Oh Lord, whatever I have, whatever I am, whatever I shall become, I give it all to you.”
Feel the tears on your cheeks. Hear yourself join the crowd crying, “Hosanna! Praise be to God!” as he moves away down the road.
As you turn from the road and away from the crowd, repeat your prayer to yourself.
Stay in that moment for as long as you like; then take another deep breath and open your eyes
“Hosanna! Praise be to God!”
Amen.
(Click here to see a video on how to pray the Scriptures.)
Author Bio
Dave Gillogly has been a member of Council Road for 44 years and is a guy who has been blessed by so many lifters in his life that he can hardly keep his feet on the ground. He’s trying to return the favor.