Was the original Palm Sunday a practical joke?

This year Palm Sunday’s April 1st.
Ironic, don’t you think?
A day for jokes and playing tricks on friends.
That day in Old Jerusalem
was hardly slight-of-hand.
It was the real McCoy, not just pretend.

Or was it? (We might rightly ask.)
That cheering crowd became
a jeering crowd blood-thirsty (downright cruel).
“Hosannas” voiced on Sunday
morphed to Friday’s “Crucify!
We have no king but Caesar. Kill the fool!”

The April Fool was led away
and bludgeoned on a cross.
Despised, He was rejected as a fraud.
Once lauded with palm branches
and regaled as David’s Son,
now the object of a joke (though He was God).

And we (like them) can also seem
in step with what He claims,
so quick to raise our palms in public praise,
but then to be persuaded by
the feelings of our friends
and once we’re not at church we change our ways.

Are we Palm Sunday’s April fools
pretending He is Lord?
Just going through the motions one more time?
Or are we fools for Jesus
unconcerned what others think
as we count the cost and daily toe the line?

Exposing the hidden thorns of “The Bachelor”

The search for finding lasting love
(as seen on ABC)
is good for ratings every Monday night.
But the stuff The Bachelor models
is quite toxic for young teens.
What it teaches them ’bout dating isn’t right.

How they drink booze just like water
sends the cue you need some wine
to converse and get acquainted from the start.
And the way The Bachelor makes out
with whatever girl he’s with
means there’s bound to be a lot of broken hearts.

Getting intimate with several
is The Bachelor’s dream come true,
but it cheapens what’s intended for “the one.”
“Kiss and telling” and comparing
undermines the myst-er-y
of discovering “what’s only just begun.”

And I ache for those rejected
who do not receive a rose
even after they surrendered innocence.
While The Bachelor has a fan base,
what it does to fragile hearts
is degrading and just doesn’t make much sense.

It’s more than an Academy Award segment

There’s that segment at The Oscars
where they take one final bow.
I’m referring to the ones who’ve passed away.
“In Memoriam” they call it.
One last chance to say goodbye
and recall the winning roles we watched them play.

And it always is quite shocking
to admit each one is dead.
When we watch their films, it seems they still live on.
But they’ve left us. And it’s final.
They aren’t ever coming back.
They’re not acting like they’ve died. They’re really gone!

In the movie we call Living,
death is written in the script.
Our lines may vary, but the plot’s the same.
We must leave our props and costumes
and be judged for what we’ve done,
when at last the Main Director calls our name.

Death is certain. It’s a given.
There’s no way we can escape.
But we need not fear the outcome when we’re gone.
There’s eternal life that’s waiting
for each one who’s claimed God’s grace
in anticipation of that day to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMXI5brubQE