Palm Sunday — Reflecting on Imago Dei

By Lori Stanley

Palm Sunday signals Jesus’s path to the cross and juxtaposes the honors he received upon entering Jerusalem with the suffering and violent torture that would follow. As bodies of onlookers hugged the road, Jesus made the journey to enter the city. Riding on a donkey and clothed with peace and humility, I imagine he nodded and smiled at those waving branches and singing his praises about his miraculous works of healing.

But with just enough tension, fright and pressure, the same crowd that welcomed Jesus’s entry into town held little regard for him hours later. How quickly emotions can swing to the extreme without spiritual grounding. Rooted in ignorance, contempt and damaging narratives, the passion captures the mob’s hatred toward Jesus.

Psalm 139:13-14 celebrates each human life as being “knit together” in our mother’s womb and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our creative and loving God purposefully forms us in the dark and anxiously awaits our arrival into the world with gifts to fulfill our respective purposes.

Visiting Selma, Alabama — which I did with Catholic Mobilizing Network in August 2024 — puts this scripture on its ear! It’s been 60 years and churches are still segregated with ushers assigned to doors to intentionally control the entry of blacks into their sanctuaries. On the day I heard this, I wrote in my journal, imago Dei “Genesis 1:27, God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Vitriol for black bodies could still be felt around the city as I walked through a park along the National Historic Trail taken by MLK and protestors. Our tour guide pointed to a tree that had been used for lynching a Black man and a partial confederate monument still standing; both giving a sinister nod to white supremacy narratives that challenge imago Dei. As I walked from one end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge to the other, I imagined how the Black foot soldiers courageously and humbly journeyed to protest unfair voting rights 60 years ago.

Like Jesus, they entered the bridge nonviolently and unarmed. Yet, their solidarity dissolved suddenly when they were brutally attacked. Police on horseback overtook the crowd, violently swinging clubs and spraying tear gas.

What began as a protest in pursuit of justice and liberty developed into a “Bloody Sunday”.

While only three protestors died, hundreds were traumatically affected by the police brutality they received and/or witnessed. Acknowledging trauma, respecting the dignity in each person, and creating safe spaces to share lived experiences will directly impact leaders’ ability to courageously address unjust policies and standards.

Imago Dei continually invites us to accept God’s love on a personal and intimate basis. Accepting myself as loved by God helps me to surrender to Christ’s work in me. In turn, God’s love moves me to continually strive to be Christ for others and to see Christ in others.

On this Palm Sunday, I invite you to consider:

1. When have you been silent when you should have spoken out?
2. How can you be braver in sharing your faith?