Trendy Jesus?

Wow, the sun is coming out just in time for Palm Sunday. HOW-lay-LEW-yahhh!
The cold and rain has become way too trendy for me.
Trend: Noun. The general direction in which something tends to move. A general tendency or inclination.
The problem with a trend in this day of rapidly changing trends is that the moment something becomes trendy, it's likely not going to be a cool trend for long. The trend is at an end. At least for marketing and sales purposes. So marketing folks have to think of a way to keep trends fresh and new as they become more and more popular.
Jesus reached the pinnacle of his trendiness on Palm Sunday. From there it was all down hill, at least that's what it looked like. He fell off the trend scale faster than Rod Blagojevich; faster than the economy fell last Fall. And the amazing thing is, that's just what God had in mind. Again and again God pounds away at us with the same idea: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Isaiah 55:8
If God's ways are so different, then what might it mean to the ways we live? Are we such creatures of trend and culture that we can't see the world differently? And if we can see things from God's view, what would that look like? That's what we'll chew on this Palm Sunday.
- Curtis

For Palm Sunday (March 16) - A Kingdom Parade

Matthew 21:1-11
This week we come to one of those passages that's hard to get a fresh grasp on because we are so used to it, if we've been in the Church for a long time. Palm fronds, kids processing in the santuary, cries of "Hosanna" which sound fun, but we're not sure just what these cries mean (save!). Jesus accepts the people's praises and apparent proclamation of being a King, but he knows full well that in just a few days his time on earth will come to a violent end.
Just what's going on?
As we've been learning for the past few weeks, there is a Kingdom thing happening. All through the Gospels Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God than just about anything else. Most of his parables are about the Kingdom, Jesus' final week might just be the clearest evidence we have that he was ushering in the Kingdom of God on earth. Back at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus said,
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12)
What if Jesus was really talking about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth - now? What if his final week was the end of an old earth and the beginning of something new happening - even if we've been incredibly slow to figure it out? If there's truth in this perspective, then what might Palm Sunday and the way Jesus arrived in Jerusalem mean? What's different about this understanding? What might it mean for how we are to live our lives? Share some thoughts here! - Curtis