Superstar!

Psalm 107:33-42; 108:1-6(7-13) • Psalm 33
Num. 20:14-29 • Rom. 6:1-11 • Matt. 21:1-11

When I read about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, these lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar get stuck in my mind.

Hosanna
Hey Sanna Sanna Sanna Hosanna
Hey Sanna Hosanna
Hey JC, JC you're alright by me
Sanna Hosanna
Hey Superstar

I wrote a reflection on this passage a few years ago. Then I wondered what this procession was like for Jesus. Today I try to imagine myself in the crowd, and it feels like a parade for a winning sports team, complete with confetti, or possibly a political rally. Celebrating a Superstar. And that might be right. This crowd was hoping Jesus would somehow lead to overthrowing the Roman government and releasing the Jews from their oppression.

I ask myself, who is my Superstar? For whom would I go out and cheer and applaud wholeheartedly? If it were Jesus, or a modern-day prophet, would I be there? I have trouble seeing myself in that setting. For one thing, I have a protective veneer of skepticism or cynicism that makes it hard for me to be wholehearted about anything or anyone. And I might not go to a parade, but then I remembered McMichael speakers who have moved me to tears, Bryan Stevenson at the University of Arkansas, and many others. I hear the presence of Jesus in their words. Not at a parade, but these people are superstars. And I consider Jesus a superstar, in the way that he lived and died, and as a model for my life. And I am wholehearted in my wish to follow his model more perfectly.

Hey JC, JC you're alright by me
Sanna Hosanna
Hey Superstar

Written by Cathy Campbell

A parishioner who wants to sing in the choir, who now does Healing Touch at a distance, and who is waiting for Life to show her the truth about this present time.