Palm Sunday

The first Palm Sunday was the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago. At that time Jerusalem had a normal population of about 50,000, and it at least tripled in size because of the influx of pilgrims celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Journal queries

3. Ongo journal

4. Egg tree

5. Figgy pudding

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft":

I'm reading this sweet little book by Sarah Lyons (2019) that I got from my daughter for Christmas. The subtitle is A Guide to Magical Activism.

Chapter 3 is Dream Big, about cultivating our imagination so we can change the world. "Our ability to dream a different world is the foundation of magic, and quite frankly, it's the only hope we have."

She says we might be able to only take small steps, but we can dream big. We can expand our perspective to include ideas that seem unreasonable. 

"The art of dreaming - of dreaming big - and pulling things out of the realm of imagination and into this world is what all good magic is about."

Some of what she says in this chapter is New Age positive-thinking BS, but under it is a hopefulness that I can embrace. We do need to have an idea of the future we want, no matter how fantastical we think it is. And I don't want to squash anyone's big dreams. 

So, now we will look at soul flight, and talking to spirits, as a way to find answers to our problems.

2. Ongo journal:

I'm going back through this book by Catherine Madden and Jesse Weiss Chu (2022), focussing on the solo practices. 

I'm on week 10, and Day 3 is Connecting 

Requests, which are invitations to share truths. I can request reflection (reframing) when I want to have confidence I've been understood, and response when I want to connect to what someone feels about what I shared. These should include the Needs the request serves, such as clarity, understanding, etc.

Practice: Write out two sample connecting requests to carry with me:

• "Do you think you could tell me what you heard me say, so I know I'm being clear?"
• "Can you tell me how that makes you feel, because I want to understand?" 

3. Journal queries:
Marcus Borg says this:

“On... Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem from the east in a procession riding on a donkey cheered by his followers. At the same time, a Roman imperial procession of troops and cavalry entered the city from the west, headed by Pilate. Their purpose was to reinforce the Roman garrison stationed near the temple for the season of Passover, when tens (hundreds?) of thousands of Jewish pilgrims filled the city...

Jesus’ mode of entry was symbolic, signifying that the kingdom of which he spoke was a kingdom of peace. According to the prophet Zechariah, the king entering Jerusalem on a donkey was to banish the weapons of war from the land and speak peace to the nations. The kingdom of Rome on the other hand was based on violence and the threat of violence.” 

Marcus Borg sees Palm Sunday as Jesus’ intentional confrontation of the Roman domination. I too am called to speak truth to power and put my faith into action.

Where do I see domination systems today?
What are my intentions for facing them with peaceful actions?

4. Set up my egg tree: 

It's an old custom in parts of Europe to make an Easter tree, often on Palm Sunday. Folks find a bare branch from a tree, stick it into a pot or vase of dirt, and hang it with decorated eggs tied on with ribbons. In Switzerland, after the tree is decorated, the children walk around it and make secret wishes.

Each year I hang the pysanky eggs that my family has made over the years; I especially like the simplest eggs made by my children when they were young- over 20 years ago!

5. Make Figgy Pudding: 

This day is called Fig Sunday in parts of England; some people think it's because, shortly after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus discovers a fig tree with no fruit on it and cursed the tree saying, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” (Matthew 21:18-22, and Mark 11:12-14). 

Scholars have lots of interesting explanations for this gospel, and no matter what the explanation, it seems an odd reason to eat figs today. Still, I get a kick out of the very thought of Figgy Pudding, so I gave it a try- and it turned out very tasty! The recipe is here.