Palm Sunday: Revealing and Reflecting
Rev. Erik Swanson
March 29, 2026
You can watch the sermon here.
Today feels like one of the most complex and emotionally layered days in the life of the church. I experience it as a collision of opposites — joy and celebration alongside fear and foreboding, hope intertwined with the shadow of what is to come. We begin with the triumph of the palm procession, full of praise and expectation, yet quickly encounter the tension of Jesus standing before power, confronting it directly. His entrance into Jerusalem doesn’t just inspire celebration; it exposes truth. It reveals who he is, what he values, and whom he challenges. That very clarity is what ultimately puts him at risk.
Revealing What’s Been Hidden
As I reflect on this idea of “revealing,” I find myself thinking about our present moment. Some describe our time as “Armageddon,” often meaning destruction, but I understand it instead as revelation — an uncovering. And in many ways, I feel a strange sense of relief about that. So much in our world has been hidden, softened, or ignored for too long. Now, things are being brought into the light — systems of injustice, abuses of power, and patterns that harm the vulnerable. It’s unsettling and often painful to witness, but I believe this kind of exposure is necessary. We cannot change what we refuse to see.
Holy Week: A Journey Through The Depth Of Human Experience
This revealing creates turbulence. I hear confusion from many people, and I feel it myself at times. Long-held assumptions about our nation, our identity, and our place in the world are being challenged. There is a disorienting shift happening, and it can feel like grief. I notice this tension even in moments that should feel purely celebratory. There are times when joy is mixed with sorrow, when pride is complicated by discomfort. It reminds me that revelation often brings both clarity and loss — joy for what is being born and grief for what is passing away.
This is exactly what Holy Week invites us to enter. It is not a quick leap from celebration to resurrection, but a journey through the full depth of human experience. It reveals the path Jesus walks — a path of integrity, love, and forgiveness, even in the face of suffering and injustice. It includes acts of humility and service, the confrontation of darkness within and around us, the uncertainty of waiting, and ultimately, the promise of new life. This pattern is not just a story we remember; it is a cycle we live through again and again.
Revealing Internally and Externally
As I look at the world around me, I feel both anger and hope. I am frustrated by injustice, inequality, and systems that exploit and exclude. At the same time, I am encouraged that these realities are being named more openly. But I also recognize that this revealing is not just external — it is internal. I see my own shortcomings more clearly: my biases, insecurities, and the ways I fall short of the person I hope to be. This, too, is part of the work.
How Do We Respond?
So the question becomes: how do I respond? I feel called to stay grounded, resisting the pull toward reactionary or destructive behavior. I want to take small, intentional actions that align with what I believe is right. I am reminded to persevere — to continue showing up with love, generosity, and hope, even when it’s difficult. And above all, I want to stay attentive to the movement of the Spirit, looking beyond the surface to where new life is emerging.
Begin With A Sense Of Openness
As I enter this Holy Week, I find myself asking: where do joy and grief meet in my own life? What is being revealed to me — about the world, about others, and about myself? And am I willing to truly see it? I step into this journey with a sense of openness, trusting that even in the discomfort of revelation, there is the possibility of transformation.