Palms Up. Eyes Open. | Rev. Dr. Andre Bennett

Palm Sunday is one of the most emotionally complex days in the Christian year. The crowd goes wild. They wave branches, shout hosannas, and carpet the road with their cloaks. It’s a parade, a celebration, a moment of pure collective joy. And then — within the week — those same voices are calling for his crucifixion.

What happened? Maybe the problem wasn’t that they stopped believing in Jesus. Maybe the problem was that they never really understood who he was in the first place. They wanted a king who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel’s glory. They got a king who rode a borrowed donkey and wept over a city that didn’t know what it needed. They were praising someone they had fundamentally misread.

That gap — between the king they wanted and the king who actually showed up — is exactly where Palm Sunday lives. And it’s closer to home than we might think. This Sunday at Shiloh, Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett will preach “The King They Praised… But Didn’t Understand,” and together we’ll ask the harder question: Do we understand the king we’re praising? Come ready to wave your palms — and to let Jesus surprise you all over again.

See the Shiloh Worship Page for Online Access to Worship.