I’m writing this on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday recalls the day Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. The people welcomed him with open arms placing there cloaks and cut branches onto the road in front of him. It’s too bad it didn’t last. A few days later they were calling him to be nailed to a cross.

He went into Jerusalem knowing full well he was going to die. He could have turned around, but he didn’t. He knew he was going to save us all. I wonder what he would do today?

First of all, his disciples probably would have had the police called on them for taking someone’s donkey. How would they explain that? “Well, officer, it’s like this: Our boss needs to ride a donkey into town so we can have dinner.” “He says we are going to have to eat his flesh and drink his blood before he washes our feet.” That would be the point where the officer would have hauled them off to the slammer.

All humor aside, he would have been welcomed at first, but just like two thousand years ago, once people learned that many of the ways they did things were going to change, they would turn against him, too.

We haven’t learned much since Jesus walked into Jerusalem. We don’t love our neighbors; we worship idols, whether sports stars or actors, and we especially worship money more than God. We’re too busy to pray, so never mind worshipping God. We have put God out of our lives until the last minute when we really need Him. Then we wonder where He is.

Fortunately, Jesus is still coming. We may not welcome him, but he certainly won’t be shy about deciding where we will spend eternity.

Start welcoming Him into your soul now.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. (Matthew 21:6–8, NABRE)