Sunday March 24, Fifth Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday

1 Background

Were the same people in the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem and in the crowds which demanded Jesus's execution a few days later. Perhaps some of the same people were at both events. More likely, however, they were two very different crowds. The former was made up of his followers and friends from Galilee, the latter from the wandering mobs that characterize any city on a big festival day. Where were the followers of Jesus? With a few exceptions they were somewhere else. They knew they couldn't fight "city hall." They realized that the dream was over and that what they had feared all along would happen. The leaders would snatch Jesus secretly and put an end to his "good news" which they perceived as a threat to their power. What the realists among Jesus's followers had predicted all along had at last happened. The best thing to do was to go to ground and hide till the trouble blew over. Jesus was wonderful all right, but what had he done for them lately.

2 Story

Once upon a time there was a very famous football coach who won many championships and almost always led his team to the playoffs. Indeed his team was the only one ever to have an unbeaten season. As they years went on, however, he was sometimes less successful than he had been in the past because the rest of the league was catching up with his wisdom. Finally a new owner came to the team and demanded a winner. The coach had assembled a group of players that many people said were the best team he ever led. His quarterback held most of the records in the history of the league. But things began to go wrong early in the season when the team was beset by injuries. Then the quarter back went down. The local media began to attack the coach. Somehow all the injuries were his fault. The new owner began muttering that he would do whatever it took to assemble a winning team. At the end of the season the coach, one of the greatest ever, was fired. What had he done for them lately?