"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" This comes from a hymn that is often sung on Good Friday and asks an important question about Good Friday. However, that question, "were you there?" can also be applied to Palm Sunday as well. Were we there when Jesus rode into Jerusalem in triumph? Were we there when crowds were waving palm branches and singing "Hosanna" to their king? Let’s imagine, through some of the faces that might have been present, what this might have been like.

Imagine that you are traveler to Jerusalem. You have spent many days preparing for the long hard ride to Jerusalem. When you finally get to Jerusalem you hear the singing. You see the palm branches waving in the air. You take a closer look and see Jesus. Is this the same Jesus that you have been hearing about? The one who healed the sick? The one who is such a great teacher? Now he is declaring himself king of the Jews. It is about time. We need a new king. Rome is terrorizing us and the Religious leaders are corrupt. Maybe this new king can do something about that. So our traveler from Jerusalem grabs a palm branch and starts singing "hosannas" to the new king.

Imagine that you live in Jerusalem. Maybe you are a woman who has lived in Jerusalem all her life. That Sunday morning you hear all the commotion outside. Probably more Passover revelers you think. When you look outside, you see the palm branches and hear the singing. You see a man riding on a colt in the distance. Who could that be? It must be this Jesus you have heard so much about. You have heard great things about Jesus. He always treats people equally, rather male or female. In fact, some of his disciples are women. Maybe something good will come because of this Jesus. You go outside and grab a palm branch and join in the chorus.

Now imagine that you are one of the 12 Apostles. Your time had finally come. After spending about three years following Jesus, he is now declaring himself King of the Jews. Soon others would see how great he is. You already know how great Jesus is. He will be the greatest King the Jews ever had. Pride begins to swell up inside of you as you imagine the possibilities. Finally we will be recognized. Finally, those who laughed at us and taunted us will know that they were wrong. This would probably be the most glorious day of your life.

Those are just some of the many possible reactions we have from those who were there on Palm Sunday. Now, what about Monday? How will these people react on Monday? You expect great things to occur on Monday. However, things do not go as you planned. The Romans are still patrolling the city. The Corrupt Jewish priests are still running the temple. Your king is not acting very king-like. He spends his day teaching in the temple and not rousing people up to take back their nation. Where is our new order? Jesus does not look as strong on Monday as he did on Sunday.

As the week continues through Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the same doubts continue to arise. Where is our King? Where is our Kingdom? Where is our revolution? Maybe our trust has been misplaced? This Jesus is nothing but a fraud.

Finally on Friday, Good Friday, the crowds have turned against Jesus. Where was your faith in your king on Friday? Our traveler to Jerusalem, where is your faith in your king? You are probably content to see your king dragged away like a common criminal. And you Jerusalem woman, where is your faith in your king? Maybe you once again got caught up in all the excitement and joined in the crowds yelling "crucify him." Later you go home having forgotten all the hopes and dreams that your King inspired within you.

Where were you 12 Apostles? Where is your faith? Where is your loyalty? When your King needed you most, where were you? One of you was out to hang himself, having to feel the guilt of betrayal. Another one was weighed down with his own sins of denying his King three times. Most of you simply disappeared on Thursday night and were probably hiding out. Only one of you managed to be with your King at his most desperate hour.

As we travel from Sunday’s jubilation to Friday’s tribulation, there are many stories that can be told. Unfortunately not many are positive. What happened from Sunday to Friday? How can someone have a large parade thrown for him on Monday, be completely rejected on Friday? What happened to the crowds? The crowds were still there. Instead of raising palm branches in the air, they were raising their fists. Instead of singing "Hosanna", they were chanting "crucify him". What happened to their faith on Sunday, when Friday rolled around?

Maybe we should ask ourselves that same question. Where is our Sunday faith on Friday? We sing our "Hosannas" to our king on Sunday, but do we carry through during the week? Have we abandoned our King during the week? Our King expects our worship and praise throughout our lives. Sometimes other things seem to take the place of our King.

We can’t plead ignorance. We have been baptized in his name. We know about the commitment to keep Jesus as the center of our lives. Yet we fail. So what do we do with our failure? Do we despair like Judas? Or hang our heads low in shame like Peter? Do coast through our days ignorant of our inconsistency like the crowds? Do we promise to try harder? Of course the answer is: none of the above.

We can promise to try harder, but that will only make our failure so much greater. When our Sunday faith fails us on Friday, we don’t have to turn away from Jesus in shame. Instead, continue to cling to the cross all that much harder. That is what living the life of a Christian is all about – taking our troubles and sins to the cross. There we know that our crucified king has forgiven us and helps to lead us to a better life. We trust that while we are not perfect, Jesus Christ is perfect and has given that perfection for us on the cross.

When we consider all that Jesus has done for us, our only response is our faith. But maybe we need to continue to test ourselves during the week. We need to see if our faith on Friday is the same as it is on Sunday. We do this by noticing how we act on Friday and comparing it to our Sunday’s faith. Are their words or actions that we do on Friday that we would never conceive of doing in church? Maybe then we need to confess our failure to our King.

Our actions and faith ought to be the same on Friday as they are on Sunday. Our faith in our King, Jesus Christ, is all week long, not just on Sunday morning. Anytime we mess up during the week, it is Jesus who tells we are forgiven. It is our King who died on the cross to take away all that guilt we have for not following him as we should.

As we begin this Holy Week, we ought to continue to remember our Sunday faith throughout the week. Continue to place your faith this Friday in the same place that is on Sunday morning – in Jesus Christ, our crucified King. Amen.