Encountering Jesus, Palm Sunday: Judas and the Poor
Palm Sunday, April 2 2023
Jesus rebukes Judas, telling him “The Poor will always be with you.” These are words that can feed our growing cynicism, if not our greed.
Pastor Rob reflects on where we’ve been in John’s Gospel, showing how Jesus’ actions are again and again about helping the people in need, in poverty and on the margins. It turns out that we cannot eliminate all the problems in the world, but we are called embrace and serve our neighbor. Jesus words to Judas about the poor being with us remind us to turn our attention away from the big, grand problems that are beyond us and turn our gaze to the people who need our help.
This Lent we focused on encountering Jesus. Pastor Rob concludes the sermon by reflecting on how we encounter Jesus in serving others and our need for something more than Palm Sunday.
The picture is of the youth helping to read our Gospel reading, in which Jesus encounters Judas.