The Trojan Horse of the Church Year

Palm Sunday is the Trojan horse of the church year. You remember the story from Greek mythology: a huge, splendid wooden horse was accepted by the Trojans as a present from the Greeks (so it really ought to be called the Greek horse, but never mind). The horse was wheeled in through the walls of the city of Troy. In the night, Greek soldiers hidden in the horse slipped out and admitted the Greek army, who proceeded to sack the city.

Palm Sunday is a little bit like that. My grandchildren say it’s their favorite Sunday of the year, but when pressed to say why, they say they like the…