PALM SUNDAY

Writer and artist Andy Warhol, back in 1968, first proposed the idea that “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” That may be true, but fame doesn’t last. Hollywood is full of has-beens. History offers the folly: Napoleon crowning himself Emperor of France, and a few years later being exiled on a remote island. Hitler hailed himself as stadiums full of fervent followers saluted back and sang, “Leader, guide us and we will follow you.” A few years later, Hitler’s dream was dead and so was he. The Book of Proverbs warns us that pride goes before a fall.

Perhaps for Jesus, his 15 minutes of fame was the triumphal moment of his entry into Jerusalem to the “Hosannas” of the cheering crowd. He soon realized the people would just as easily turn against him, choosing Barabbas over him and taunting him on the cross to save himself. But Jesus’ 15 minutes of fame have endured for more than a billion minutes. And we’ll be counting forever.

                       Deacon Dick Folger