One tradition that my family has is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. So serious was this event, that my grandfather would for many years record the parade and archive it for later viewing. Even today I wonder if he still has videotapes of those parades going back into the 80’s. My mother still watches the parade on television on Thanksgiving as she prepares the Thanksgiving dinner. For many years, I never really watched the parade. It never seemed to draw any interest on my behalf. Just this week I was told that it must be a guy thing to not enjoy parades. It wasn’t until I actually went to a parade that I could really understand and appreciate them.

I can remember one parade in particular that really got my attention – Cinco de Mayo parade in Houston. With a very large Mexican population in the city, this was the most popular and largest parade in Houston. Most of the parade, I did not have the cultural understanding to figure out everything that was going on. There was just something amazing about all the floats that went by. And I can see how easy it is to get all caught up in the excitement that a parade provides.

Maybe you have been to a parade. You probably know how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of a parade. I think there is an old saying, "Everyone loves a parade." Parades come in many different fashions. There are those like the Cinco de Mayo parade and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade that celebrate a particular holiday. Town’s will often have their own parades perhaps held on a yearly basis. Cape Girardeau has such a parade every year. There is another kind of parade that honors a member of the community. Maybe it is a war hero in a small community, or the President of the United States when they are inaugurated.

In our Gospel text we have another such parade. At this parade, people did not throw ticker tape, but waved palm branches. The school marching band did not play, but people sang hymns and psalms. One being honored did not ride on back of the convertible, but instead on the back of a donkey.

This parade was not for a hometown hero, or to celebrate a particular holiday, but this was a parade for a King. Not just any king, but the King – King Jesus. Even this parade would have a king that people did not expect. For this parade would begin a weeklong procession that would end on the cross. This parade would not be a triumph for Jesus. In fact many who were there did not really understand who Jesus was.

Usually parades often represent a triumph or high point in someone’s life. When the President is sworn into office he has a parade where he walks or rides to the White House. This is probably the high point of their administration, where people place all their hopes and dreams, before they get into all the dirty business that Washington provides. A President will usually never again enjoy such high approval numbers again. This is the same for a hometown hero. A parade thrown in your honor will usually result in the pinnacle of your life. This hero will probably never again be on top. When the Cardinals won the World Series, they were thrown a parade in St. Louis. If they don’t win another World Series a parade is not likely going to be thrown. Parades usually aren’t thrown for teams that come in second place.

In the ancient world, at the time that Jesus lived, parades were often thrown for Caesars and Kings. They were used to glorify rulers. Often when Caesars went off to war they would have victory parades that brought back the spoils of their conquests. This represented that they were gods here on earth, in command over other nations.

The crowds that came out to see Jesus offered a very similar glorification of Jesus. Palm branches were often used to inaugurate a Jewish king. The future Jewish Messiah was prophesied to ride into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Royal Psalms of David were sung. Everything explicitly showed that Jesus was their new king. But what kind of King was Jesus?

In Jesus’ case it took only 5 days for the people to reject him as their king. In fact it was one of Jesus’ closest followers that would turn him over to be executed. His other followers would soon flee in terror. What caused people to reject their king so soon after his parade?

Reason for this rejection was that people misunderstood Jesus. The crowds misunderstood Jesus’ mission – they thought that he was a conquering King. The disciples misunderstood Jesus’ mission – they thought that he would be an earthly King. Maybe we too have misunderstood Jesus. Maybe we have doubted that Jesus is the Son of God and thought that he was little more than a prophet. Maybe Jesus represents little more than a good luck charm to be called upon when things are going badly.

Jesus’ own glorification was not to be on Palm Sunday, rather on Good Friday. It was on Good Friday that he will die on the cross. This will be hard for the world to understand and comprehend. We expect to see a King ride in triumph, not be crucified on a cross. Death, especially death on a cross, is not glorification according to human standards. And yet this is the paradox that God chose.

Jesus’ mission was not to be an earthly king, but to save all of us. This would be done on Good Friday, when he would take the ultimate sacrifice and die on the cross. What looked like a triumphant parade through the streets of Jerusalem was just a precursor to the ultimate sacrifice on Good Friday, where God would truly glorify Jesus.

It is because of this sacrifice on Good Friday that we are truly forgiven of all our sins. Anytime we have fallen short of God’s grace, we are forgiven. Anytime we have sinned against God and our neighbor, we are forgiven. All this came because of a parade, just not the parade that we expect. It would be the parade on Good Friday that would lead to our forgiveness. Jesus will parade through the streets of Jerusalem with a cross on his back; beaten and bloodied, mocked throughout that would usher in our new king.

It is because of this parade on Good Friday that we can live in confidence that God has truly forgiven us. We now have a King in Jesus Christ who advocates on our behalf. Palm Sunday is just the beginning of Holy Week. Today represents the pinnacle of Jesus’ life in an earthly sense. However, another parade is much more important. It is the parade that will commence on Good Friday, which will be the pinnacle in all our lives. This is where God will truly forgive all of us. The glory received from earthly parades is only temporary; the glorious parade on Good Friday is something that will last forever.