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| The Rev. Greg Syler |
I had prepared and was set to lead the Prayers of the
People. Such was my liturgical role that Palm Sunday, the year in Divinity
School I was serving as intern.
Looking at the order of service, I saw that the prayers
immediately followed an organ anthem, always a wonderful thing when played on
Rockefeller Chapel’s tremendous E. M. Skinner organ.
I sat in the choir stall, text of the prayers on my lap,
prayers I thought decently inspired and marked by themes I remembered from previous
Palm Sundays: the expectant and joy-filled crowd, the promise of glory to come,
a day of honest celebration. In my Congregationalist church growing up, Palm
Sunday was really a prequel to Easter and had many, if not most, of the same
themes as the Sunday to come. So were my prayers that day about hope, renewal,
celebration and joy.
Then the anthem started.
