Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
And when they were drawing near to Jerusalem and to Bethania at the mount of Olives, he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith to them: Go into the village that is over against you, and immediately at your coming in thither, you shall find a colt tied, upon which no man yet hath sat: loose him, and bring him.And if any man shall say to you, What are you doing? say ye that the Lord hath need of him: and immediately he will let him come hither. And going their way, they found the colt tied before the gate without, in the meeting of two ways: and they loose him. And some of them that stood there, said to them: What do you loosing the colt?
Who said to them as Jesus had commanded them; and they let him go with them. And they brought the colt to Jesus; and they lay their garments on him, and he sat upon him.
And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down boughs from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And they that went before and they that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh: Hosanna in the highest. -Mark 11:1-10
It bears noting that many of the same crowd that were shouting "Hosanna in the highest" as Our Lord rode into Jerusalem that day were shouting "crucify Him" by Friday morning.
This is not the first time I have been a part of a political campaign when Holy Week fell. It is the very first time that I have been the candidate whose campaign I was focused on. It gives me a new perspective and appreciation for what Christ went through, as many candidates go through the same thing, either during the campaign or upon being elected: A crowd or group of people hailing you as victor and triumphant, expecting that you will be the one to make everything better-when things don't turn out as they had hoped, or when the true meaning of your message becomes apparent, they are ready to "crucify" you in a different sort of way.
In Jesus' case, people expected that he was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel to its former glory in their lifetime. They did not see or understand that he was calling them to a different sort of glory, a spiritual glory that they could live out in their lives on earth, and carry with them to the world to come. Our Lord was probably the best campaigner that ever lived (nothing like a miracle or two to get the attention of a crowd), but because people failed to understand the message itself, they expected something totally different than what Christ actually brought them.
I am not under the illusion that if I am elected to the County Commission, that the nature of how things function downtown is going to change overnight-frankly, I do not expect that to happen. However, no change is possible at any level of government unless the process begins with one person who cares enough to make a difference-and then it can be done one person at a time, one voice at a time. To conservatives: I am one of you, I believe in the things you believe in, and I promote the same ideas you do-I am passionate about them. Remember that I can't do it all by myself. To liberals: Surprisingly enough, it may shock you to learn that I do want to listen to you even when I passionately disagree with what you are saying. What I owe to all the people of this district and to all of the people of Knox County during this campaign is my best judgement, according to my conscience-and at all times that is what I will promise to the people.
Tomorrow I'll be out handing out cards and talking to people around the district. If you see me around, remember that I'd like to hear your concerns about what you would like to see County Government address.
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 3:41 PM
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