Visual Resources for the Lectionaries

This post offers visual resources for the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary for March 29, 2026. Use this chart for quick links to the texts and the resource pages on cartoonistbible.com.

Palm Sunday

CLICK HERE to jump to the Narrative Lectionary Resources

Two Parades | A Visual Meditation on Palm Sunday and Holy Week

Revised Common Lectionary Resources

Liturgy of the Palms

Liturgy of the Passion

Gospel Reading – Matthew 26:14-27:66 OR Matthew 27:11-54

This image is from page 20 in A Cartoonist’s Guide to Matthew

“LORD, save us, please!” That is what the crowds shouted when Jesus rode in to Jerusalem. They were quoting Psalm 118:25-26. It is most likely that they were singing the entire Psalm. It is a Psalm written for the nation of Israel when they were surrounded by enemies. It calls the leaders to give thanks to God, to humble themselves, and to trust in God’s work to bring about their victory. The Psalm begins and ends with the words, “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Palm Sunday is a tricky day for preachers in the United States of America in 2026. It is especially tricky for preachers who work within church institutions that are inheritors of White Western European brands of Christianity. I speak from this place of privilege, so I’m speaking to my people a cautionary tale.

We must remember that the scripture, particularly the Gospels, were written by people who were suffering oppression under the domination of the Roman Empire. I offer the image at the top of the page to contrast two ways of imagining how God works in the world (click here for a deeper dive).

The people of Jerusalem wanted Jesus to rise up and save them from the domination of Rome. The question is, what did they expect him to do? The human way to defeat oppression is to rise up in violent revolt, oust the oppressors, and establish the new order. The problem is that fighting violence with violence only perpetuates the violence. This is the pattern of human history and it ends in destruction…always.

Jesus came to break the cycle. He rode into town on a donkey, a symbol of peace. He demonstrated God’s love in his body, in how he lived his life. He welcomed the outcast, he restored the marginalized to community, he spoke truth to power, he emptied himself and absorbed the violence into his body and took it to the grave. Then he rose from the dead…but we’ll save that for Easter.

White christians, we cannot behave like the Empire. We must not allow authoritarian domination to be the way of the church. Those of us who have power and privilege are called to follow the way of Jesus and stand with any and all who are oppressed, marginalized, or neglected by power systems.

This is the way of the cross. It is the way of Jesus.

O LORD, rescue us, please!

Narrative Lectionary Resources

John 19:16b-22 

This image is from the Come and See Version of John

The Narrative Lectionary ends with the inscription that Pilate ordered to be placed on Jesus’ cross. It reads, “The King of the Jews.” This is such an ironic label. This was most likely intended to be a mockery. Pilate proclaims in its posting, “Here is what Rome does to any who claim to be King! Stand down or die!”

I think this is the hook for the Narrative Lectionary preacher to bring the text into conversation with the liturgical practice of Palm Sunday. See my commentary above for the RCL. Jesus is the King of the Jews, but the reign of Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel, the one Jesus called Abba, looks like a cross.

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