Call to Worship: Inaugural Events (Palm Sunday)

When the United States elects a president for a first term, I find the inauguration fascinating. People line the streets and cheer, some because they simply honor the office and this might be their one chance to see the president of the United States of America, while others add to it their hope. The candidate they voted for has won, and this is a celebration of a new era. Those who did not vote for the president still watch the ceremony on television, and wonder what the next four years will bring. We attach symbolism to whether the new president walks or rides in a car down Pennsylvania Avenue, the chosen guest speakers and performers, and the president’s first official act, often signing a piece of legislation or policy.

That same feeling may have been among the people of Jerusalem as Jesus came into Jerusalem before the Passover. People cheered, laid down their coats and waved palm branches, as he rode a donkey through the East Gate, while in the background his enemies feared that the whole world seemed to be following this prophet from a small town. His first act of the day was to purify the temple, and the era he would soon usher in would bring purification for the misdeeds of all.