SUNDAY, APRIL 13 2025 - PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday
April 13th 2025
Jeff Laforet
So, here we are, with Jeff (me), presenting the sermon on not only one of the
bigger days of the year, Palm Sunday, but also during a service that is themed with Self-
Control. I am just as surprised as you are, maybe even more so. I am not a person who
comes to self-regulation and moderation very easily. I have a nasty habit of self-
deprecation that Deborah has already cautioned me about, and has edited this message to
be sure. I have overcome smoking and alcohol addictions and issues earlier in my life,
and I continue to battle an eating addiction/disorder that continues to require diligence
and practice. I will give you an example ... This week’s fruit for Lenten reflection is the
strawberry, with the connotation that you can’t just eat one. Honestly, that’s not an issue
for me (slide one) ... I can have one of these. Now (slide 2), this gets a little harder – add
chocolate to said strawberry and I’m more tempted to grab a couple .. to start with. Let’s
not even get into these (slide 3)... chips. Lays chips literally have the slogan that says
“betcha can’t eat just one”. They are right! I can’t have one handful, and one bowl
depends on the size of the bowl. For me, it is always a struggle to make the right
decisions to keep myself physically and emotionally healthy, which can mean even
avoiding things altogether. People do not understand what I go through in my though
process and plan to ensure I treat myself well. Which ultimately leads me to a phrase that
I wanted to shape my message around today (slide 4): “People only see the decisions you
made, not the choices you had”. Let me repeat that: “People only see the decisions you
made, not the choices you had”.
I find this to be so true about myself, but also in how I see others. I am not a
perfect person, as I state the obvious, and I judge others at times when I shouldn’t,
without any consideration or grace. I easily take offence to people who don’t know how
to drive – I mean, people who’s driving choices baffle me. Someone who is late or
cancels time with me without, what I consider, a fair reason will get an internal grumble
and monologue. I wish I was better than that but at times, I’m not.
When I think about the reading today that Liz read for us, definitely the better half
of the Kargus duo, I put myself humbly into the shoes of the Pharisees and Romans in
that passage. They hear about this Jesus character, and person anointed by the crowds as
the son of God, the King of the Jews. He is coming into Jerusalem with a massive consort
of followers and onlookers, sure to disrupt the contained and manufactured peace of the
city. As he enters, he is being carried on a donkey, a lowly animal, and not a majestic
conquering steed – is he mocking us? Is he trying to provoke the Romans, who could
surely respond with force? And the people, his entrance is causing so much ruckus and
chaos, not to mention the noise, which is creating a scene that is getting out of hand.
Why did he choose to be so arrogant? Why is he causing a situation that he knows can
lead to violence? Why is he allowing these people to carry on, fanning him with palms
and singing his praises, saying he is the holy one? Why is he doing this to us?
You see what’s happening here from this perspective? The focus is on only the
decisions that Jesus has purportedly made. They only see how the actions are impacting
them or could infuriate the Roman oppressors, and not how we got here. For example,
Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was not merely his choice, but the fulfillment of a claim
made by the Old Testament prophet Zechariah, who gave a prophecy that the Messiah
would announce himself publicly in a most humble way -- by riding a lowly donkey into
Jerusalem. I did research for this! The crowds certainly believed that Jesus was the
Messiah, and Jesus could not have “chosen” to keep them at bay or away for any reason.
They were coming to Jerusalem en masse and shared that the prophet was coming. The
singing and dancing, with palm waving madness was not something Jesus was able to
qualm or stop – not his choice. As he shared, if the crowds were silenced, the rocks
would sing. Jesus was judged for all his decisions, and later slain for that, and only
through hindsight is he given consideration of the choices, and lack of choices, made.
Putting that into context today, I wonder how many people consider the choices
people made before making the decision to do something. Going back to my sharing
from before, I love chips, and I struggle with having just one. So if I am invited to
someone’s house, say for a movie or to play cards, I need to plan for it. I will make sure
that I ate well all day with a focus on protein and low sodium/sugar snacks. I will bring
extra drinks that are relatively healthy to fill myself up, and I will likely have a good
snack before I arrive. I will ensure I exercised and walked even a little bit. And lastly, I
will do everything in my power to be fair to myself, to enjoy those chips and eat them
slowly to savour the salty goodness. To not see it as a failure to have eaten this junk
food, but as a time and place to have something I enjoy. Those at the house may look at
me and judge, or think “I thought after all that weight loss he would eat better”. Fair
enough, but that decision was beholden to a plethora of choices that I wish you could
consider.
I am not the only one, I am sure. How many people here have either been judged
by a decision they made, or judged others for the same? How many times have we talked
with someone to only find out that what we thought was wrong was the best outcome out
of a series of lousy choices? I know a person that was asked to leave the community
centre because she smelled of weed and alcohol. When she was able to share her story, it
came to light that she lived in a home with a partner who constantly smoked up, who
drank all the time, and was aggressive and angry when sober. This woman wanted to not
be at home when her partner woke up, it was winter, and the community centre was the
closest place that was warm and free. She knew she didn’t present well, probably
smelled, and looked so tired and worn out, but she was safe and was only going to be
there for a bit. This story has a good ending because even though she was initially asked
to leave, a staff and security guard spoke with her, she was brave and secure enough to
share what was happening. They not only let her stay, she was given coffee, a place to sit
and rest, and a promise that she could come anytime, which she did.
So my challenge to you today is to find the person riding in on the lowly donkey,
why looks to be out of place, who has been judged, and instead of giving into the
negative, wave a palm to them .. like this (gesture to say hi) or this (Gesture to sit), and
even this (wave to come over) and listen to all the choices they could have made. Wave a
palm to all, and then, when able, put those palms together (praying gesture), to give
thanks for all the choices you have.