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<table class="gmail-m_471413610283387724layout gmail-m_471413610283387724layout-table gmail-m_471413610283387724root-table" style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" width="650" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_471413610283387724layout-row-margin21686" style="padding:5px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_471413610283387724layout-row21686" class="gmail-m_471413610283387724layout gmail-m_471413610283387724layout-row gmail-m_471413610283387724widget gmail-m_471413610283387724_widget_text gmail-m_471413610283387724style21686" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_471413610283387724layout-row-padding21686" style="padding:10px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_471413610283387724text_div21245" class="gmail-m_471413610283387724td_text gmail-m_471413610283387724td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.5;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" align="left" valign="top"><div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><div style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-size:18px;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:medium none currentcolor;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Friends, on this Palm <span class="gmail-aBn" tabindex="0"><span class="gmail-aQJ">Sunday</span></span>
 we are privileged to become im<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>mersed in Mark’s great Passion narrative,
 where the kingship of Jesus emerges with great clarity—and also with 
great irony.
</b></span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b><br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">We
 read that upon being brought before the Sanhedrin, Jesus is asked 
whether he is the "Messiah," an implicit reference to David. When Jesus 
calmly responds, "I am," the high priest tears his robes, for how could a
 shackled criminal possibly be the kingly descendant of David? Upon 
being presented to Pilate, Jesus is ask<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">ed the functionally equivalent 
question: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Again a blandly affirmative 
answer comes: "You say so." This leads the soldiers to mock him, placing
 a purple cloak on his shoulders and a crown of thorns on his head.</span></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><br></span></b><b><br></b></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Mark
 does not want us to miss the irony
that, precisely as the King of the Jews and the Son of David, Jesus is 
implicitly king to <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">those soldiers</span>.</b> <b>For the mission of the Davidic king 
is the unification not only of the tribes of Isra<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">el </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">but also of the 
tribes of the world.</span> </span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>What commenced with David’s gathering of the tribes
 of Israel </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>would soon reach completion in the criminal raised high on 
the cross, thereby drawing all people to himself.</b></span></span></b><br></span></b></div>
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