Why are we talking Palm Sunday so early in Lent? Because the Passion story doesn’t wait politely for Holy Week, and neither do our expectations.

In this episode, the crew dives into John 12:12-19 and the triumphal entry from a different angle. What were the crowds expecting when they shouted “Hosanna”? A conquering king? A political liberator? A priestly fixer? And what happens when the Messiah shows up on a donkey instead of a war horse?

Along the way, we explore the idea of “messiah scripts,” the ways each Gospel frames Jesus differently, and how our own expectations of God shape what we think faith should look like. We talk eschatology, crowd psychology, and why loving your neighbor might be more subversive than we admit.

If the Messiah refuses to meet our assumptions, maybe the invitation isn’t to double down, but to change our expectations. In a world that feels overwhelming, faithful change often looks less like fixing everything and more like taking the next step right in front of you.

Also, yes, we define “mumpsimus.” And yes, it applies.