On Palm Sunday in 1980, Kurt Vonnegut was invited to preach at Saint Clements Episcopal Church in New York City. In that sermon, he said “I am enchanted by the Sermon on the Mount. Being merciful, it seems to me, is the only good idea we have received so far. Perhaps we will get another idea that good by and by--and then we will have two good ideas. What might that second good idea be? I don’t know. How could I know? I will make a wild guess that it will come from music somehow. I have often wondered what music is and why we love it so. It may be that music is that second good idea’s being born.”

Inspired by the words he shared that day, let us explore Palm Sunday through the eyes of Kurt Vonnegut this weekend. What can the gospel look like for one who is not concerned more about how we are choosing to live right here and right now rather than in an afterlife.