On Palm Sunday

Ever since WA training I’ve been a little uncomfortable with the way a lot of people sing “Blessed Be Your Name.”  It’s a song taken out of the book of Job, and it’s so happy-clappy, often, that it seems the congregation isn’t even aware of the words they are singing.  “you give and take away… Lord blessed be your name.”  I always wonder if we are really willing to say those things along with Job, even as we often do, bouncing up and down, eyes closed, hands raised.

It seemed appropriate for Palm Sunday though.  Palm Sunday, with the crucifixion looming less than a week away.  The people of Jerusalem waving palm branches and shouting hosanna!  Palm Sunday, like that song, has the same mix of impending horror and frantic joy.  It seems these people have no idea what’s to come, and worse, they are the cause of it.

And I wonder what other terrors we are ignoring as we bounce along with our praise songs.  Whose tragedies do we ignore as we shout out “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”