Several years ago, a dear parishioner complained that I had ruined Palm Sunday. Somehow, somewhere in the recesses of his memory, he could remember a time when the church celebrated both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday on separate days. “Why can't we go back to that?” He asked. “Palm Sunday should be a happy day. Having Passion as part of the day ruins everything,” he complained. As we talked, I explained to her that I wasn't aware of the existence of a Palm Sunday and a Passion Sunday, but I would definitely look into past years and see if Saint Luke had celebrated Palm Sunday differently before my I arrive. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhat I discovered in my research is what I had thought. The structure of the service that year was no different from the ten-year service bulletins I had written. Instead, for this parishioner, that day, something different happened while she was experiencing the liturgy. As I have mentioned on many occasions over the years, when we read the Bible, we need to be aware that there are many layers to what we are reading. It's as if most of the Bible can be read as stories within stories. This is especially true of the Gospels. On the outer crown of the Gospels is the biographical and historical documentation of the life and ministry of Jesus. This is the literal and objective reality of history. The next level becomes the theological story as the story tells us who God is and how He relates to us. When we reach the third level, the focus of the story suddenly changes. History is no longer about something outside of ourselves; instead, when we encounter the metaphorical realities of the story, the story suddenly becomes about us and how we relate to God. Now let's be honest, all of this morning's liturgy is designed to take us to the heart of our story. Our first Gospel reading is easy. Who wouldn't want to be part of the crowd celebrating Jesus entering Jerusalem as we sing “All Glory, Praise and Honor,” while waving palm branches in procession behind the cross. After all, this is who we are as followers of Jesus in the twenty-first century. But then the story changes. Suddenly, when we step into passion, no matter where we turn, no matter where we are in the story, the outcome and the message is not good. In this passage, as Jesus is tried and crucified, we are confronted with the very aspects of our being that we rarely, if ever, want to look at, let alone admit. . .our darkness, our human frailty, our real need for God. If we find ourselves in contact with Peter, like him, we begin our morning convinced that our loyalty is unshakable, our faith steadfast and truly one of God's servants. Christ more reliable and loving. In the end we find ourselves reduced to crying while the rooster crows. . .as we realize that our survival trumps all other loyalties. “I swear,” Peter protests, “I don't know this man!” Unfortunately there is no security even in the crowd. This is where we often find ourselves. As part of the crowd we are overwhelmed by how quickly we go from exalting Jesus as savior to being condemned to death. We discover how easy it is to deny another the fullness of their humanity while condemning them to death. And we discover how cruel we can be when we mock a helpless, dying man. Yes, there is no safe place, no safe person in the midst of today's Gospel readings as they leave us hanging and wallowing in our own darkness without the