Steve's Writing: Triumph (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Palm Sunday)

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Triumph (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Palm Sunday)

In the 7th grade, I ran for homeroom student council representative. I lost. I lost again in the 8th. And the 9th. And the 10th. The 11th grade, though, was a special year for me. Oh, I still lost my homeroom representative race, and to the same guy who had beaten me every other time: Bobby King (not his real name).

Still, something new happened that school year.

That spring, I became a candidate for Student Council president—and Bobby King was not allowed to run because he was already overcommitted. Finally, I felt, I was going to get mine. I was finally going to get elected, and not only that, elected to the highest office. I felt excited, happy—assured.

Election Day: The moment had arrived when the students could make their choice. The polls would open right after the student assembly for candidate speeches. If I had had any concern, it vanished after we finished our speeches. Based on the applause, I clearly had the upper hand.

Then the principal asked the question he had asked every year at this event: “Is there a nomination from the floor?”

For the first time anyone could remember, there was. A guy popped out from the side stage, stepped to the podium, and said: “I nominate Bobby King!” From the very back of the auditorium, Bobby stood and slowly walked down the sloping aisle toward the stage. As he passed each row, students rose to their feet, wildly cheering and applauding. By the time he mounted the stage, it was obvious to everyone that he would be the winner.

I was watching it all slip away—and I hated it.

I was crushed—and I was angry. I felt that everything I had worked for had been stolen from me, and not just for that election, but for all those years leading up to this. With each rising row of students, shouting accolades and praise for their chosen leader, my envy and jealousy also rose. And rose. And rose. His triumphal procession to the front infuriated me. I was forced to just watch as it all fell apart before my eyes. More than anything else in the world, I wished him gone.

That right there? The envy, the anger, the jealousy, the fervent wish that none of this had ever happened? That is what the religious and political leaders of Israel felt when they watched Jesus descend from the Mount of Olives in a triumphal procession into Jerusalem.

We see it all in this week's two Matthew passages. Those leaders felt it all belonged to them, and they could not abide the thought someone else would take their place, that someone else would have all that power. They wanted Jesus gone, and they set in motion a plan to make it happen.

Not pretty then, not pretty when I was in high school, and not pretty now. Do we, like the leaders of Israel, want to keep hold of the power? Are we trying, even now, to push Jesus from the lordship of our lives?

Or, do we embrace “the stone that the builders rejected” as our cornerstone?

It is entirely our choice.

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PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express

BONUS:

For the full story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, first read the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9-17. Then read all three of the Gospels that report it: Matthew 21:5ff, Luke 19:28ff, and John 12:12ff.

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Join us at 8:00 Friday on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We'll be feasting, getting our hearts and minds prepared for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and all that leads up to Easter. There’s a great breakfast menu, and the spiritual food is the very best.

There will be no nominations from the floor.

Blessings,

Steve

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

SCRIPTURES FOR PALM SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Liturgy of the Palms (March 29, 2026)

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=l&d=33

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_LiturgyofthePalms.pdf

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29