Mike McClenahan

(Guest Blogger Tom shares his reflections on Palm Sunday with words and pictures--he has a great way with both.  th2hombre.com )  I am such a knuckle-dragging Christian.  I revere Easter, and know that as night precedes the dawn, Palm Sunday precedes Easter by exactly one week.   But somehow or other this morning, I went to church clueless that today is Palm Sunday.  The day the Jesus entered Jerusalem astride a donkey, proceeding over branches and palm leaves, fulfilling the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. This is the beginning of Holy Week, or Semana Santa in Spanish.    This morning's realization that this is Palm Sunday overtook me like a blessed breakthrough in the clouds, a fresh and gathering tailwind, a bouquet of sweet chaparral along a rough hilly trail. I've had a glow inside me ever since.   And in the bargain, I've been chrono-transported to a Palm Sunday I relished four ye...

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends... Love one another as I have loved you." John 15:13, 34 "There's a surprise inside," Amy said as she slipped the ring on my finger. Later, on the way to the reception I read "John" and wondered if they got the wrong name... Then I realized Amy had picked a verse for us, one that would challenge us for the rest of our lives. Lay down your life...  That verse has become more and more real to me as the essence of marriage, and the essence of life as a follower of Jesus. It's not a sentimental or sappy love, it's sacrificial. It's costly. It's not about me, but it's about living like Jesus. As I have loved you... Work hard to love each other, and love like Jesus? It's sacrificial, blessing, giving up something special, humble. It's building a bridge of friendship, compassion, hope. For a church, it means caring for...