Let your imagination take you from this place, this time…...you are standing on a dusty road in Bethphage, next to Bethany, just over the brow of the Mount of Olives…………you have no idea how you got here but you have become part of a growing crowd….. many are waving palms……you can feel the excitement of those around you…..someone must have handed you a palm…….you begin to wave but you still do not know what is happening…. then, in the distance you hear “Hosanna! Hosanna! Save us!”……it is getting louder…..the crowd begins to part and move to the sides of the road…….now the shouts are almost deafening………..then you see Him …..this Jesus of Nazareth …..and you know why you are here… He is moving closer … He is riding on an ass and its foal is walking beside Him…..His sandaled feet and the hem of His robe are dusty from the road….you are still holding your palm but you cannot wave…..you can only gaze at Him, this man they call Lord, the Son of Man…He pauses…He is looking at YOU……time has stopped for you……you are alone with Him in this crowd…..He smiles …. He seems to be looking deep within your soul ….What does he see? He’s moving on…….the crowd follows but you cannot move. The Hosannas fade as Jesus rides down the hill to Gethsemane and ….Jerusalem.
Days later you find yourself in another crowd…… you are no longer on a country road……you are on a darkened, narrow street.....it is dirty……the filthy stench of garbage, bodies crushed against you is almost unbearable…..you are outside the city walls of Jerusalem. There are no joyful hosannas……no palms are waving…..only angry fists thrust in the air and you hear “Crucify! Crucify!” You want to run away but you cannot move…… near you someone says “He’s carrying his cross”. Then you hear “He’ll die on that cross!” and then the person beside you curses and shouts “He’s getting what he deserves!” You want to shout “NO! DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN!” ….but you cannot utter a sound…..you loathe yourself for your weakness, your cowardice. ….the shouting has stopped and now all you hear is the rattle of the Roman soldiers’ armor and their angry orders for Jesus to “Keep moving!” and the stinging crack of a leather whip….they’re drawing nearer… . ….you close your eyes and cover your ears to shut out the horror that surrounds you……suddenly you are realize the movement has stopped ….you open your eyes and find Jesus has fallen under the weight of the cross…..He is so close you could touch him….He is struggling to stand…..you could so easily reach out to help Him but you are afraid….He raises His head and you see His face…it is streaked with blood and spittle……His robe is torn, revealing angry wounds inflicted by the soldiers’ whips…His swollen eyes seem to be searching the crowd and then they settle on YOU …..He is so weak and racked with pain but He smiles. He is smiling at YOU and once again, -- was that only the other day? -- you feel you are alone with him in that crowd but at the same time you know His smile is not just for you…Do the others feel it?....In one incredible instant you know He understands. He knows your fear and can feel your guilt and……He forgives.