Palm Sunday

I woke up this morning feeling both excited and reverenced for today to be Palm Sunday. The day when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem days before His crucifixion. My thoughts immediately turn to my experiences 1 year ago when I participated in the festivities of Palm Sunday along the Via Dolorosa in Israel. Here are my thoughts from last year:

"Easter is the center point of our theology, but in LDS culture, we tend to play it down, or get distracted by other good priorities. (General Conference) We participate in Christian inventions like egg dying and hunts, but perhaps forget to celebrate or place emphasis on Christ's triumphal entry and resurrection.

Considering that today is Palm Sunday, I would urge you to evaluate how you can welcome the Lord into your heart and create an opportunity for the Spirit to testify to you that Jesus is the Christ. I don't know where I was when Christ entered Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday, but I know that I am here now; and I want to be His witness.

I believe in Christ as the Son of God, and as the Savior of the world. But do I believe the Messenger while rejecting His message of good news? Do I fail to trust Him when He says that He can make me pure, clean and worthy now? Because I have lofty goals and high expectations for myself and my future, it is easy for me to see where I fall short and hold onto my guilt. I believe in Christ's identity as the son of God, and I'm now learning to trust in His ability and power to cleanse me, heal me, forgive me, and make me a worthy today, even as I make mistakes and lead an imperfect life.

Christ redeems us from the curse of the law -the immoveable demand for perfect performance- by offering justification by faith in Christ instead of by law. What a special gift the atonement is to me. My quest for perfection goes from an overwhelming, unfulfilled demand, to an incomparable blessing of love and companionship through our Savior's infinite gift of sacrifice and love. Let's celebrate His triumphant entry to Jerusalem this Palm Sunday and truly repent for the sins He has already vicariously suffered for us. Our Savior, the divine victim of the new covenant, answered the demands of justice in the garden of the "oil press" and on Calvary, and He suffered alone for you and for me."