Texts: Luke 19:29-48, Zechariah 9:9-10, Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Philippians 2:5-11

How is true peace achieved in a world bent on violence? On Palm Sunday we see Jesus triumphantly entering Jerusalem as King. Except, is it really very triumphant, on a donkey? And he’s not technically king either. It turns out this is exactly the paradox Jesus wanted. True strength comes not through grasping power for oneself, but through submitting to the way of love, of giving oneself to lift others. As we enter the paradox of Holy Week, we join the ragtag bunch of disciples glorifying Jesus as King days before his humiliating death on a cross, in faith that against all odds, this is where true peace and wholeness is found.