Palm Sunday

My sermon at St. Swithin's Episcopal Church today.

Several years ago, I took scuba diving lessons.  One of my classmates was a member of a group that all went on adventures together – bungee jumping, what have you.  Scuba diving was the latest adventure they all wanted to try.  The last one they tried was skydiving.
My friend told me that skydiving class was very thorough.  They spent many hours in the classroom, learning the equipment inside and out. They learned what forces would be acting on their bodies when they finally took the dive, and how to cope with them.  They learned how to deal with emergencies, what to do if the chute wouldn’t open, and what to do if THAT failed.  Everything they would possibly face was drilled into their heads, and they were as prepared for this as they were for anything in their lives.

Still, he said … the day of the first dive … that walk from their preparation area to the plane was the longest walk of his life.