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We are entering into Holy Week.

Sunday is Palm Sunday, and we recreate the time when Jesus entered into Jerusalem being greeted by those waving palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna!"

The service will also include the Passion reading from the Gospel of Mark, when we are reminded of the crowd yelling, "Crucify!"

A week in a day.  What was different?  What changed? "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"

That became shouts of "Crucify him!!!"  Odd way of showing "blessing," isn't it?

Then again, how often do people look at us and wonder if we are a blessing while we treat others with the disposable ease of "crucify?"

Do people see the presence of God in their midst by our words and actions?

Does our lives, and how we treat our neighbors (ALL of them), proclaim a welcoming blessing, or a demand that they just go away and die?

Yes, we hear quite a bit of the story on Sunday.  I still encourage you to come and experience and hear more of it on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

May those experiences once again remind you of the depths of God's love and grace- so much so that it transforms our lives into new life that blesses and loves the world.