Palm Sunday: A Time for Preaching or Storytelling?

What shall we do with all the long readings in the Lectionary for this week? Why not consider using all of them? On this Sunday, perhaps more than any other in the Christian year, the elements of drama and mystery take a front seat. The use of both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday readings on the sixth Sunday in Lent will allow worshipers to experience some of what Jesus' followers must have experienced throughout that eventful week. Think of the many worshipers whose schedules allow them to attend only Sunday services during Lent. If they experience only the exhilaration of the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday followed by next week's celebration of the Resurrection, they run the risk of missing the impact of the important events that came between Palm Sunday and Easter. The account of the passion of Christ is as important to our understanding of God's love and redemption as the account of the Rresurrection. We need both the high notes of the entry and the somber tones of suffering. This is one of the reasons that such long readings are suggested on Palm/Passion Sunday.

I encourage you to avoid the temptation to chop this week's readings into one digestible preaching portion. Mark has already done the preaching, so your task, this week, is easy — just tell the story. Jensen, Lowry, Boomershine, and others encourage us to see the story in Scripture. Consider sharing the Bible passage as your own memory or as an eyewitness account (without notes or cue cards); or invite a storyteller to share the Scripture. If your congregation is blessed with people who are gifted in dramatic arts, consider using several "storytellers"; or have them enact the reading as a drama. If you do not have a local "storytelle" in your congregation, the Network of Biblical Storytellersmay be able to help you locate one. Resource persons from the Network of Biblical Storytellers (NOBS) suggest learning the story in segments that make sense — paying particular attention to important details while not becoming bogged down with rote memorization. Rote memorization of such a long passage runs the risk of sounding artificial. With a little practice, you should be able to repeat the Bible passage with great accuracy and bring fresh perspective to a story that may have become too familiar to those who attend church regularly.

Online Resources:

* "Easter Morning" and "Ragman" — Walter Wangerin favorites with music by Ken Medema. Don't miss the audio or video buttons to either hear or see this selection! http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/Wangerin_4524.htm

* Network of Biblical Storytellers

Printed Resources:

* New Handbook of the Christian Year (see Part Two, Chapter Six "From Ashes to Fire: Lent and Easter")

* Telling the Old, Old, Story: The Art of Narrative Preaching by David L. Larsen (Kregel Publishing, 2001)

* Storytelling the Word: Homilies and How to Write Them by William Bausch (Twenty Third Publishing, 1996)

* Thinking in Story: Preaching in a Post-Literate Age by Richard Jensen (CSS Publishing, 1994)

* The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon As Narrative Art Form by Eugene Lowry (Westminster Press, 2000)

* Story Journey: An Invitation to the Gospel as Storytelling by Thomas Boomershine (Abingdon Press, 1988)