Palm Sunday Year B

Lent for Everyone
Mark Year B
HOLY WEEK PALM SUNDAY...

...The guests arrived on time, and soon the party was in full swing. The little nibbles, a whole variety of tasty little morsels, were delicious. The wine sparkled in the glasses. A lovely smell wafted through from the kitchen; clearly there was a major treat in store. The decorations made an already attractive room look like a fairy palace. How easy it was for the guests, enjoying one another’s company and a good evening out, to take it all for granted.

I caught my wife’s eye. Yes, it was good they were all here. We were glad to do it. But only she and I knew – and only she really knew – what it had taken to bring us to that point. The butcher had let us down, and an emergency dash to another shop had only just come up with the goods on time. The fridge hadn’t been working properly, and she had worried all night that everything that should have been cold and crisp would be warm and soggy. I had blown the house’s main fuse in putting up the extra lights. And in the middle of it all the key person who had kindly volunteered to help make all the little extras had gone down with the flu. The surface glitter of the party nicely covered over the days and hours when it felt as though we were pushing water uphill with our bare hands...

Taken from Lent for Everyone Mark Year B by Tom Wright