Two years ago on Palm Sunday, the Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in the Faculty of Divinity at Harvard University, preached a courageous sermon in Harvard's Memorial Church.

Here are two paragraphs from that challenging sermon he preached on April 2, 2023:

"Jesus has come into Jerusalem, he has entered the city today, but as is always the case, what is at stake for Jesus this morning and each day, is love. The kingdom that Jesus promises is one of love. And love seems harmless enough. But what is threatening about love? What is frightening about Jesus' love is that Jesus' love is boundless. It reaches beyond ourselves to the people we do not love. It reaches those we neglect and forget. It reaches those who do not love us. It reaches our enemies. Jesus' love reaches those we hate."

"Fifty-five years ago this Tuesday, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. We, who claim to follow Jesus have not come far, this 2,000 years. We would still rather forsake love than remember the lost. We would still rather kill our peacemakers than love our enemies. And yet this day and this week, after so many years of our failure, Jesus enters his kingdom, his kingdom of love, and of justice and of peace. Jesus enters it once again. May we at last have courage to follow."

Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts' complete sermon from April 2, 2023 can be found at https://memorialchurch.harvard.edu/blog/sermon-palm-sunday