Entering Holy Week

Yesterday we received our palms. It's a tradition in many churches, my Lutheran parish among them, for those who waved their newly blessed palms in the procession to and through the church doors to take their palms home and place them behind icons, pictures, and crosses so that throughout the year, they may remember that on Passion Sunday, our Lord entered Jerusalem with the enthusiasm of his followers. Palm waving for Jesus, all of us discover, is fairly easy. Going with Jesus to the cross, however, is much more difficult, often dangerous. During the year, as the leaves on the palm branches dry up and sometimes turn brownish-green, we are reminded that beyond the enthusiasm, Jesus walked the Hard Road, the road He invites us to take with him. As we walk our way through this Holy Week, remembering day by day how Jesus shows us the Way, may our eyes be rivited on His commitment as He walks in front of us. May we look hard and long at the Way he chooses for Himself--and asks us to journey with him.