Palm Sunday – Entry Into Jerusalem

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today our ord Jesus Christ enters into Jerusalem, hailed as the King of Israel. A great multitude of people greet Him with palm branches and cry out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

All of Jerusalem turns out to greet their Messiah, an event which had been prophesied and anticipated for many ages. Our Lord had been ministering to the people: teaching, healing, and performing miracles of compassionate love for three years. His fame and the news of His miracles had spread far and wide, and now, with His entry into Jerusalem, the people of Israel were taken up with enthusiasm that their King had arrived and that the time of their triumph would soon be inaugurated.

These people were expecting Christ to reign as an earthly king… they believed that the time was at hand when Israel would overthrow the tyranny of Rome - and Jesus Christ, one of their own, would sit on the throne of Israel as their king. Their reading of the prophecies were earthly and even the disciples of the Lord continued to misunderstand the otherworldly message of Christ.

Imagine how shocked and disillusioned they all must have been when Christ, rather than overthrowing the Roman tyranny, was arrested, mocked and scourged, and paraded through the streets of Jerusalem as a common criminal to then be crucified amid thieves. This was an earth shattering and soul shattering event!

The people of Jerusalem expected Christ to lead them into victory… how disappointed and how bitter they became when He instead accepted and embraced His suffering and death. Within less than a week the people went from shouting ‘Hosanna!’ to shouting ‘Crucify Him!’

Let us not shake our heads in righteous judgment against these people… let us instead look into the mirror of Holy Scripture and see ourselves. What are our expectations of God? Do we approach God with expectations of victory – that all of our prayers will be answered according to our will, that God will bless us with health and wealth and an easy life? And when things do not go our way, as they inevitably will… when troubles overwhelm us, when our health fails us, when sin continually defeats us… do our cries shift from praise of God to doubting Him or even cursing Him? Do we find ourselves disappointed in God?

Again, let us look into the mirror. If we’re being honest with ourselves, isn’t it the case that God has more reason to be disappointed in us? We hear in Holy Scripture that Christ stands at the door of our heart and He knocks. He doesn’t force Himself upon us… He respects the freedom He gifted unto us and He simply knocks… offering Himself to us if we will accept Him.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are standing now at the beginning of Holy Week… a week like none other throughout the whole year. This week the Holy Church will present before us all the events of the final days of our Lord Jesus Christ: His final instructions to His disciples, His deep humility in washing their feet, the inauguration and institution of the Mystical Supper which Christ continues to offer to us today, His agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene, His arrest and trial and mockings, and His crucifixion and burial.

My dear ones, I exhort you to clear your calendars this week to attend these important and soul-stirring services! When Christ suffered His agonies in the Garden of Gethsemene, He asked His disciples to watch and pray with Him. But the disciples did not keep vigil, they fell asleep. Christ came back to them after praying and, seeing them lying there, said: ‘Now My heart is troubled…, could you not stay awake to keep watch and pray with Me?’. 

Let us stay spiritually awake this week above all weeks! Let us not let Christ find us sleeping… Let us keep watch and pray with our Lord Jesus Christ throughout His hours of trial and suffering – all taken upon Himself for our benefit, for our salvation.

We will have services every day this coming week… Rather than overwhelming you with information about the various services, I ask you to keep an eye on your emails this coming week. We will provide information and insights about the beautiful services of this Holy Week. I just want to say and emphasize to you that this week, above all weeks of the Church year, is so filled with beauty… through the services of this Holy Week, the Church provides us an opportunity to be with Christ in His final days.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, feed your heart and soul this week! Come to the divine services where your soul will be taken through all of these events in the life of Christ which make the proclamation of His resurrection so much more glorious!

Let us watch and pray this week. Let us transport ourselves to be there in spirit with our Lord as He endures the arrest, the trial, the mockings, and His ultimate sacrifice. If we immerse ourselves in these events of Holy Week, our joy in greeting the news of Christ’s glorious resurrection will be all the more bright and radiant.

May God give us the strength and attention to watch and pray, that we may be with Him this week in His sorrows as we await the joyful news of our Lord’s resurrection in just one week’s time.