Palm Sunday and April Fool's Day


1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
It is pure foolishness for Jesus to let himself be killed.  What good can he do when he is dead?  What miracles can he perform when he is dead?
For so many people Jesus just comes off as dumb.  He is nice, but He is naive.  He doesn’t really understand the world.
The teaching of the Bible is just too simple.  It’s too old.  It just doesn’t play in our world.  You cannot live like Jesus is really asking.  It’s being too fanatical.  It’s foolish.  
The High Priest Caiaphas is right - we don’t need to know if Jesus really is God’s son or whatever He is claiming.  We need to make sure that we are secure politically and financially.  Jesus disrupts peace he doesn’t bring it.  They asked him to quiet down and Jesus said “no, you don’t understand.  These people are the one’s that get it.  Not you.  If you had any idea what I am doing you would not be able to contain your joy.  I am saving you from an eternity in hell.  I am setting the captive world free from the rule of the Devil.  I am setting the world free from the rule of sin, hatred, rage, and even death.  I will die so that you may live.”
That is why it’s perfect that Palm Sunday is also April Fool’s Day.
In our world it seems foolish to be a Christian.  We consider others better than ourselves.  We believe that it is better to serve than to be served.  We give a portion of our money to the local church, global missions, and those who are less fortunate or simply can’t take care of themselves.  We smile in the face of our persecutors.  We have a peace that passes all understanding (making us look foolish or too simple minded).  We don’t spread gossip, even when it’s really juicy.  We return kindness to those who hurt us.  We don’t stab someone in the back to get ahead of them.  No, we actually slow down to help those who are falling behind.  We sacrifice our dreams and desires to spread the love of Christ in a real tangible way with people that we may not really care for.
Through the foolishness of Jesus, we, as his followers, have learned that we must sacrifice all that we have before we can ever even begin to understand the hope, peace, and joy that come from giving everything to God.  It’s so counter-cultural and counter-intiutive.  It’s stupid really, but to those of us who are being saved it makes sense.  I get rid of all the good that God has given me and He continues to give me more than I can give.  The peace of God is only found when I follow Him into the unknown, into the chaos, and into the deep dark recesses of humanity.  It is when I spread the light of Jesus Christ into the dark places that I find in myself and in others that I am able to see.
We celebrate Palm Sunday because Jesus took the worst plans of the world and turned them into the best plans of God.

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