No Kings and Palm Sunday. Part 1

We attended the No Kings Rally at the state Capitol in St. Paul on Saturday. The crowds were huge, but peaceful and some signs may have been a little snarky, but no one stormed the Capitol, attacked police officers, or smeared feces on the walls. And I am proud of how Minnesota handled the government sanctioned ICE occupation. According to news reports, there are 650 ICE Agents in Minnesota, down from 3000. Did the orange cult leader claim victory and complete vindication for the gestapo-like tactics? Or, as I suspect, the ICE incels left with their tail between their legs only to terrorize people boarding airplanes. No Kings was a great day and an impressive display of civility, peace and love. 

The next day was “Palm Sunday.” Most of us know the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Crowds cheer him. Disciples encourage him. Everybody loves him. He should be the King of the Jews. Jesus has the message, the charisma, and the skills to move the masses. Clearly, he is the Messiah. And that scares the authorities. 

If you heard the adoring crowds, the adulation and love, the worship even, how could anyone not want to be King? Pretty much everyone seeing and hearing the crowds would say, “you, know, maybe I should be king.”  But that’s not what Jesus did. He decided that there should be no earthly kings and lived that. 

I think first Palm Sunday is the first “No Kings” day.