7 Palm Sunday

7 Palm Sunday

Call to Worship:
Matthew 21:1-9

21 1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
 humble, and mounted on a donkey,
 on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (1320) by Pietro Lorenzetti: entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse.

It has sometimes been my habit to get into whatever my current enthusiasm happens to be, and forget to celebrate the high feast days of the Christian year. This is wrong of me for many reasons, not the least of which is the sanctity of ceremony, a principle which I have expounded from this pulpit many times. Especially as they apply to the re-enactment of events whose resonance has become mythological, the performance of rituals, in a habitual way, brings those myths to life, in our very mundane, living presence. Therefore, if the symbolic re-enactment of holy events is truly a sacred activity, then today, Palm Sunday, should constitute a joyous re-enactment indeed, as it commemorates the first day of the so-called Holy Week, which culminates in the crucifixion and resurrection.

We have suggested many times that the language, in which a thing is expressed, may become a key toward accessing its inarticulate significance. Therefore, let us go back and enter the gates with Jesus, and see what it means. Perhaps, by reviewing the remembered pictures of Palm Sunday, we may empathically experience some of the cosmic drama that was played out on that fateful Sunday.

First some comments from the internet, beginning with Wikipedia:

"Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels. 

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday includes a procession of the assembled worshipers carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. The difficulty of procuring palms in unfavorable climates led to their substitution with branches of native trees, including box, yew, willow, and olive. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as in Yew Sunday, or by the general term Branch Sunday.

Biblical basis and symbolism
In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place about a week before his Resurrection.
The symbolism is captured in Zechariah 9:9:

"The Coming of Zion's King – See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey".

[Sidebar: There is a mixed message here: the palm branches represent victory, military conquest, and royalty, whereas the donkey represents lowly humility. This is the fundamental paradox of Jesus' teaching: the master is the servant; the superior man is the humble man.
In Mark 9:35 He says:

"And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."

And again in John 13:13-16:

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

It is with great interest that we observe the victorious King of the Jews entering the city to the enthusiastic roar of the crowd; the crowd waving palm branches as a sign of honor, and also to keep the dust of the road from rising up to soil the white garments of the Master. If we identify with this symbol, we too may dignify our lowly estate with the inner self-knowledge that we possess the keys to the Kingdom. This knowledge diffuses the sting of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and strengthens our resolve to rise above Earthy cares; it elevates our field of vision to a higher perspective, from which all mundane insult and disappointment mean nothing.]

Back to Wikipedia:

"It was perceived that Jesus was declaring he was the King of Israel to the anger of the Sanhedrin.
According to the Gospels, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there laid down their cloaks in front of him, and also laid down small branches of trees. The people sang part of Psalm 118: 25–26 :

" ... Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord …."

The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war. A king came riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and rode upon a donkey when he wanted to point out he was coming in peace. Jesus' entry to Jerusalem would thus symbolize his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

On the subject of donkeys, which we explored in some depth in Thomas The Fourth Act, I present the following poem by G.K Chesterton; The Donkey tells of Palm Sunday from the point of view of the donkey.

“The Donkey―
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.”

There is, here, the definite implication of something I would like to call "humble pride". The donkey is supported, in his old age, by his "secret": the memory of a great thing done in his past--a memory which softens the sting of the present humiliations of a tedious, menial occupation. To be sure, since it is always the MEMORY of what we have done that is most meaningful, it is, indeed, a beautiful thing to see a lowly beast of burden glorying in the knowledge that an honor was conferred, in all the world, on only one. As C.S. Lewis says, repeatedly, we become more ourselves when we surrender our will to that of the Father. Thus, doth a poor beast of burden become, through sacrifice, a royal icon, a living myth.

We hope that the radiance of eternity may shine on all our undertakings; we seek to experience the archetypal resonance of living symbols. We seek to play our parts, as players well-rehearsed in truthful representation, and lose ourselves in an identity iconic by definition, infinite in scope.

Back to Wikipedia:

"In many lands in the ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 9:13) reports that Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated this way. Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. However, in the synoptics they are only reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John specifies fronds of palm (Greek phoinix). In Jewish tradition, the palm is one of the Four Species carried for Sukkot, as prescribed for rejoicing at Leviticus 23:40:

"And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days."

The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in the Greco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire, and became the most common attribute of the goddess Nike or Victory.For contemporary Roman observers, the procession would have evoked the Roman triumph, when the triumphator laid down his arms and wore the toga, the civilian garment of peace that might be ornamented with emblems of the palm. Although the Epistles of Paul refer to Jesus as "triumphing", the entry into Jerusalem may not have been regularly pictured as a triumphal procession in this sense before the 13th century. In ancient Egyptian religion, the palm was carried in funeral processions and represented eternal life. The palm branch later became a symbol of Christian martyrs and their spiritual victory or triumph over death. In Revelation 7:9, the white-clad multitude stand before the throne and Lamb holding palm branches.

"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"

Eastern and Oriental Christianity
Palm Sunday, or the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem," as it is often called in some Orthodox Churches, is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year. The day before Palm Sunday, Lazarus Saturday, believers often prepare palm fronds by knotting them into crosses in preparation for the procession on Sunday. The hangings and vestments in the church are changed to a festive color - gold in the Greek tradition and green in the Slavic tradition. 

The Troparion of the Feast indicates the resurrection of Lazarus is a prefiguration of Jesus' own Resurrection:

"O Christ our God
When Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion,
Thou didst confirm the resurrection of the universe.
Wherefore, we like children,
carry the banner of triumph and victory,
and we cry to Thee, O Conqueror of love,
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He that cometh
in the Name of the Lord."

Western Christianity
Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, when palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.
In the Roman Catholic Church, as well as among many Anglican and Lutheran congregations, palm fronds (or in colder climates some kind of substitutes) are blessed with an aspergillum outside the church building (or in cold climates in the narthex when Easter falls early in the year). A solemn procession also takes place. It may include the normal liturgical procession of clergy and acolytes, the parish choir, or the entire congregation.
The palms are saved in many churches to be burned the following year as the source of ashes used in Ash Wednesday services. The Catholic Church considers the blessed palms to be sacramentals. The vestments for the day are deep scarlet red, the color of blood, indicating the supreme redemptive sacrifice Christ was entering the city to fulfill: his Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem."

[Sidebar: I always wanted to know what exactly Ash Wednesday was, so I looked it up:

"Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days (40 fasting days, if the 6 Sundays, which are not days of fast, are excluded) before Easter and can fall as early as 4 February or as late as 10 March."

Back to Palm Sunday:

"In the Episcopal and many other Anglican churches and in Lutheran churches, as well, the day is nowadays officially called "The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday"; in practice, though, it is usually termed "Palm Sunday" as in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer and in earlier Lutheran liturgies and calendars, to avoid undue confusion with the penultimate Sunday of Lent in the traditional calendar, which was "Passion Sunday".

Thus endeth the Wikipedia review.

From this we can clearly see that Palm Sunday is universally considered to be a Holy Day, and commemorates an event of supreme importance. The re-enactment of the so-called "Triumphal Entry" is suffused with meaning. Once again, in re-living the past, we can identify with it, and borrow some of its glory.

The following is from a sermon for Palm Sunday by Martin Luther; it focuses on the HUMILITY of riding on a donkey.

Martin Luther Palm Sunday; Christ an Example of Love
Philippians 2:5-11

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

1. Here Paul again presents to us as a powerful example of the celestial and eternal fire, the love of Christ, for the purpose of persuading us to exercise a loving concern for one another. The apostle employs fine words and precious admonitions, having perceived the indolence and negligence displayed by Christians in this matter of loving. For this the flesh is responsible. The flesh continually resists the willing spirit, seeking its own interest and causing sects and factions. Although a sermon on this same text went forth in my name a few years ago, entitled ”The Twofold Righteousness,” the text was not exhausted; therefore we will now examine it word by word.

”Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

2. You are Christians; you have Christ, and in him and through him all fullness of comfort for time and eternity: therefore nothing should appeal to your thought, your judgment, your pleasure, but that which was in the mind of Christ concerning you as the source of your welfare. For his motive throughout was not his own advantage; everything he did was done for your sake and in your interest. Let men therefore, in accord with his example, work every good thing for one another's benefit.

”Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.”

3. If Christ, who was true God by nature, has humbled himself to become servant of all, how much more should such action befit us who are of no worth, and are by nature children of sin, death and the devil! Were we similarly to humble ourselves, and even to go beyond Christ in humility – a thing, however, impossible – we should do nothing extraordinary. Our humility would still reek of sin in comparison with his. Suppose Christ was to humble himself in the least degree – but a hair's breadth, so to speak – below the most exalted angels; and suppose we were to humble ourselves to a position a thousand times more abased than that of the devils in hell; yet our humility would not compare in the least with that of Christ. For he is an infinite blessing – God himself – and we are but miserable creatures whose existence and life are not for one moment secure. 

4. What terrible judgment must come upon those who fail to imitate the ineffable example of Christ; who do not humble themselves below their neighbors and serve them, but rather exalt themselves above them! Indeed, the example of Christ may well terrify the exalted, and those high in authority; and still more the self-exalted. Who would not shrink from occupying the uppermost seat and from lording it over others when he sees the Son of God humble and eliminate himself? 

5. The phrase ”form of God” does not receive the same interpretation from all. Some understand Paul to refer to the divine essence and nature in Christ; meaning that Christ, though true God, humbled himself. While Christ is indeed true God, Paul is not speaking here of his divine essence, which is concealed. The word he uses – ”morphe,” or ”forma' – he employs again where he tells of Christ taking upon himself the form of a servant. ”Form of a servant” certainly cannot signify ”essence of a real servant”-possessing by nature the qualities of a servant. For Christ is not our servant by nature; he has become our servant from good will and favor toward us.  

6. ”Form of God,” then, means the assumption of a divine attitude and bearing, or the manifestation of divinity in port and presence; and this not privately, but before others, who witness such form and bearing. To speak in the clearest possible manner: Divine bearing and attitude are in evidence when one manifests in word and deed that which pertains peculiarly to God and suggests divinity. Accordingly, ”the form of a servant” implies the assumption of the attitude and bearing of a servant in relation to others. It might be better to render ”Morphe tu dulu,” by ”the bearing of a servant,” that means, manners of such character that whoever sees the person must take him for a servant. This should make it clear that the passage in question does not refer to the manifestation of divinity or servility as such, but to the characteristics and the expression of the same. For, as previously stated, the essence is concealed, but its manifestation is public. The essence implies a condition, while its expression implies action."

I would like to dwell on this point, made above:

"Divine bearing and attitude are in evidence when one manifests in word and deed that which pertains peculiarly to God and suggests divinity."

That which "suggests divinity" is the very quality which we have mentioned as "archetypal" and mythical. It is no surprise that Jesus held so faithfully to the scriptures of prophecy, because the fulfillment of prophecy is practically the definition of "mythological". Furthermore, it is the "suggestion of divinity" that we associate with royalty. Thus, as Jesus projects the outward sign of the peacemaker, the humble servant, He also radiates the confidence of self-knowledge that places Him at the head of the line. I am saying here that the superior man may serve the basest of the base without sacrificing the sense of his own excellence.

I have spoken, recently, of my efforts to "Rise Above It". In the mad tide pool of human ego-centricity and conflict, it is very difficult to rise above something, when gravity is constantly pulling us down. It must be this "Morphe tu dulu", this "bearing of a servant,” that enables us to block identification with mundane life; thus doth the humility of non-identification allow us to remove ourselves from the strife.

We conclude with a few significant quotes, and a longish poem:

"It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we are. If, just as we are, we would lay ourselves on the altar of service of Jesus Christ, there is no saying what Christ could do with us and through us." ~ William Barclay

"Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
O Christ, thy triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin!"
 ~ Henry Hart Milman -

"Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair."
 ~ Blaise Pascal -

Palm Sunday
"Ye whose hearts are beating high 
 

With the pulse of Poesy, 

Heirs of more than royal race, 


Fram’d by Heaven’s peculiar grace, 
 

God’s own work to do on earth, 


(If the word be not too bold,) 
 

Giving virtue a new birth, 
 

And a life that ne’er grows old— 


 

Sovereign masters of all hearts! 
 

Know ye, who hath set your parts? 
 

He who gave you breath to sing, 


 By whose strength ye sweep the string, 


 

He hath chosen you, to lead 
His Hosannas here below; 

— 
Mount, and claim your glorious meed; 


Linger not with sin and woe. 

 

But if ye should hold your peace, 
 

Deem not that the song would cease—

Angels round his glory-throne, 
Stars, 

His guiding hand that own, 
Flowers, 

that grow beneath our feet, 
 

Stones in earth’s dark womb that rest, 
 

High and low in choir shall meet, 
 

Ere His Name shall be unblest. 



Lord, by every minstrel tongue 
 

Be thy praise so duly sung, 
 

That thine angels’ harps may ne’er 
 

Fail to find fit echoing here: 
 

 

We the while, of meaner birth, 
 

Who in that divinest spell 
 

Dare not hope to join on earth, 
 

Give us grace to listen well. 

 

But should thankless silence seal 
 

Lips, that might half Heaven reveal, 
 

Should bards in idol-hymns profane 
 

The sacred soul-enthralling strain, 
 

(As in this bad world below 
 

Nobles things find vilest using,) 
 

Then, thy power and mercy shew, 


In vile things noble breath infusing; 

 

 

Then waken into sound divine 
 

The very pavement of thy shrine, 
 

Till we, like Heaven’s star-sprinkled floor, 
 

Faintly give back what we adore. 


 

Childlike though the voices be, 
 

And untunable the parts, 
 

Thou wilt own the minstrelsy, 
 

If it flow from childlike hearts."

John Keble

Let us pray: Jesus, let us make a "Triumphal Entry" into life every day, and remember two things:
pride in the knowledge that we are kings, and humility of the knowledge that: so are we all. Amen