Mark 11:1-11

“Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” vss. 9-10

It’s hard to believe that Palm Sunday is almost upon us. Some of us have almost completely lost touch with our congregations. YouTube and Zoom worship have been available but they’re not even close to what we’re used to. The Lenten season, which used to be a time of intense worship opportunities, has seemed empty without choirs and crowded sanctuaries. And now the calendar tells us that next Sunday is Passion Sunday, a time for shouts of Hosanna and the waving of palms. And a lot of us will just be sitting in our homes, just as we have done for the last 52 Sundays! Some are wondering if congregations will ever recover, if worship will bounce back to pre-COVID levels. And the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The Church is the presence of the Living Christ in our world, and no little pandemic is going to stifle it. We’ve survived world wars, crusades, and every kind of natural calamity, and emerged more vibrant than ever. The shouts of Hosanna will return, maybe not this Sunday, but they will return. The kingdom is coming, and no force on earth can stop it! Killing Jesus didn’t stop the movement 2100 years ago–a virus isn’t going to do it now. Nothing can defeat love!

Thought for the Day: How has the pandemic affected my faith life?