“We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.” (Ken Untener)

Introduction

The opening excerpt this week comes from the pen of Fr. Ken Untener and is a marvelous statement regarding faith and mission. Untener was honoring the slain Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered in 1980 after challenging those in power in El Salvador. The full prayer, titled “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own,” speaks volumes for those of us on the Christian journey — I commend it to your reading. My reference to Romero this week serves as a reminder that the ELCA commemorates him on Tuesday (24 March). Read more about his story here.

Thanks for your visit again this week! For three years, we have been using this space to better understand the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), providing context for our worship experience. And a quick reminder: The RCL provides a set of readings from the Bible for the various seasons of the church year. It was preceded by the Common Lectionary (1983), which in turn was based on the 1969 Ordo Lectionum Missae, the three-year lectionary produced by the Roman Catholic Church following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Forgive my descent “into the weeds” here, but the background is necessary for understanding WHY we refer to next Sunday as both Palm and Passion Sunday. Here is a short explanation, if you’re interested. The ELCA follows this framing as well intentionally holding together two movements at the start of Holy Week. We begin with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, waving palms and singing hosannas, and then we turn toward the solemn proclamation of the Passion, entering the story that will shape the days ahead. (Sidenote: In my quest for understanding the evolution of our hymnbooks in my lifetime — the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal, the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, and the 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Worship — the Palm/Passion combination first shows up in the 1978 LBW. If interested, you can see the full layout of the Palm Sunday through Easter period on pages 256-270 of our current hymnal, the ELW. I’m giving you an opportunity here to really sharpen up your skills of “talking Lutheran!”).

Our walk through Lent continues and on Wednesday we will arrive on day 30 of that 40-day journey. MaryBeth and I are on the road back from Texas and I’m utilizing information from a prior Palm Sunday blog, including a great column by Cory Driver.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Palm Sunday Readings (Palmerum)

Note: I utilize the Bible Gateway website for the readings (NRSVUE) and also receive as assist from Co-Pilot (A.I.) for summarizing the themes each week.

Palm Sunday Reflection

ELCA Commemorations This Week

Oscar Romero, the Annunciation, and Hans Nielsen Hauge give us a surprisingly rich sweep of Christian witness in the week of 23 March. On 24 March, we remember Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran bishop whose preaching for justice and solidarity with the poor cost him his life at the altar in 1980. On 25 March, the Annunciation pulls us back to the heart of the story—God choosing to enter the world through Mary’s brave “yes,” a moment that sets the whole gospel in motion. And on 29 March, Hans Nielsen Hauge reminds us how the Spirit can stir renewal from the ground up, as his lay preaching energized everyday believers and reshaped Norwegian church life in the early 1800s. We keep these commemorations not just to honor the past, but to stay awake to the many ways God works through ordinary people — prophets, disciples, reformers — and to let their courage and faithfulness nudge our own.

Note: Many upper midwestern Lutheran parishes, including ELC in Black River Falls, have “Haugean” roots and date back to the pre-Civil War era and first Norwegian settlers in the region. Read more about Hauge’s story here.

Reflective Music for Palm Sunday

“All Glory, Laud and Honor” has one of those backstories that feels almost tailor‑made for Palm Sunday. Theodulf of Orléans wrote it in the early 800s while he was sitting in a prison cell — hardly the setting you’d expect for a hymn full of praise and procession. The legend says the emperor heard him singing it through the bars and was so moved he ordered it sung every Palm Sunday. Even if that tale is embellished, it captures the hymn’s spirit: praise rising from a place of confinement. When John Mason Neale translated it centuries later and Melchior Teschner’s tune carried it into congregations, it became the soundtrack for Christians reenacting Christ’s humble ride into Jerusalem. And that’s where it connects so naturally to Leuillier’s painting — the hymn and the artwork both invite us to slow down and really see the scene, not as a grand parade but as a moment of unexpected kingship, where humility, color, and movement all point toward a different kind of glory.

Meditative Prayer: Inspired by Isaiah 50: 4-9a

Heavenly Father, grant us ears to hear Your wisdom each morning, and tongues to speak words of comfort to those in need. Strengthen our resolve to follow Your guidance steadfastly, even in the face of adversity, knowing that You are our refuge and strength. May we trust in Your faithfulness, finding our hope and salvation in Your everlasting love. Amen.

Going Beyond: Faith at Work