Luke 19:37, 38 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Back in 1980 Darrell Griffith was the top college basketball player in the country and was leading Louisville University to the national championship. To promote their TV coverage of March madness CBS repeatedly showed montages of Griffith performing acrobatic dunks while in the background a popular Kenny Logins song of the time proclaimed “This is it! Make no mistake where you are.” You can still find the song on Youtube. It was dynamic and tied the whole season together thematically. As I looked at Luke’s description of Palm Sunday this year, I kept coming back to the line the crowd was shouting “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Where had I heard this before. Finally, it dawned on me; Christmas. Found only in Luke we read each year that the angles declared “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Glory and peace. That was the promise of Jesus’ birth and now at Palm Sunday, this is it- make no mistake where you are. The line pulls together the whole story and focuses on the fulfilment to be accomplished in this Holy Week starting with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Rejection, death and resurrection. Glory and peace. This is it. Where are you this Holy Week?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 