Rev. Charles W. Webb of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of Bethlehem Lutheran Church leafy trees, and willows of the brook" (Lev. 23:40), Glen Arbor, MI Palm Sunday March 29, 2015 and "You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens The text for today is the Gospel which you have in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future just hears, especially these words (John 12:12-19) “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of generations may know that I made the Israelite people the Lord, even the King of Israel!” live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Dear Friends in Christ: Greetings from our Egypt" (Lev. 23:42-43). As the Israelites were triumphant King of kings, Jesus Christ. Amen! delivered from Pharaoh, Christ now delivers all men Today is Palm Sunday. Let me tell you something from sin by his march toward Calvary. Even as He about palms. The palm branch is a sign of victory, enters Jerusalem, His triumph is assured! Even the triumph, peace and eternal life. Pharissees who had opposed him all his life had to The palm was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and admit and “said to one another, ‘You see that you are in ancient Egypt represented immortality. In Judaism, gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.’ a closed frond of the date palm is part of the festival Little did they suspect they would every defeat him of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles during which the and even when they did, his resurrection proved they Israelites celebrate their sojourn in the fragile booths never would or could. Hosanna! during their 40 years of exodus as described in Historically, a palm branch was awarded to Leviticus: "On the first day you shall take the product victorious athletes in ancient Greece. 1 Since a victory signals an end to a conflict or Palms also represented heaven in early Christian art competition, the palm developed into a symbol of which often depicts Jesus in heaven among palms and peace in the Christian church. It is fitting, since even the secular world uses the palm as a symbol of a Christ brings us eternal peace from our trials and tropical island paradise. Imagine that! eternal salvation through his work that they were So, today is Palm Sunday. Our Lord rides strewn before him. majestically and prophetically into Jerusalem on the Under the Christian emperor Constantine, the back of a simple donkey. Despite the victorious palm branch also came to symbolize triumph over atmosphere, Christ’s entry doesn’t seem that kingly. death. That’s what the resurrection was for after all! But, then, Christ is always a person of contrasts. A Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize king on a donkey and a king dying on a torture cross the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul. In just don’t seem to fit the idea of triumph and regal western Christian art, martyrs were often shown splendor. Yet there must have been hundreds waving holding a palm frond representing the victory of spirit palms fronds and strewing them carpet-wise in the over flesh, and it was widely believed that a picture of path of the small advancing cortege of Christ and his a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried disciples. Besides all the palm branches on the there. ground and those being waved in the air, there was the Tradition even says that Mary gave birth to Jesus shout and cry of the people as Jesus rode by. It was under a date palm, but I doubt that. like a parade for a conquering hero. The crowd kept 2 shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is last day of the festival was called The Great Hosanna. the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna Eventually even the palm branches themselves were in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9) The words called hosannas. So when Jesus came riding into they were shouting come from Psalm 118: “Blessed is Jerusalem on that famous Palm Sunday, and the he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you crowd started singing “Hosanna to the Son of David!” from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he — there was no doubt in the minds of the people what has made his light to shine upon us...Oh give thanks they were thinking: “Here comes the long-awaited to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love Messiah! Here comes our King!” endures forever!” Those words were heard at the temple every year at the Festival of Tabernacles (or Originally the word hosanna was a cry for help. In Booths) that we mentioned above. It was THE theme Hebrew it means, “[Lord,] help us or save us!” It was song for the arrival of the Messiah. only later, because of its use at the Festival of Booths that the word hosanna simply became a shout of Hosanna was always part of the Messiah’s slogan triumph and praise! But let’s look again at this word song. In fact, on the last day of the Festival of Booths hosanna. Today is not only Palm Sunday. The newer this song “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is name for this day is “The Sunday of the Passion.” It the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna is a time when we reflect on the fact that Jesus’ in the highest heaven!” was sung 7 times. And that parade on this Sunday was not headed toward the 3 winner’s circle, or any type of awards ceremony. The after a great victorious battle. He is riding a little pomp and circumstance were soon over. Only tears unregal donkey, however. And in the city all Jesus' and suffering followed the King. Palm Sunday begins enemies have gathered to have at him one last time. It Holy Week, a week that ended in pain and agony for doesn’t bode well. this man on the donkey. The parade of this Sunday led ultimately to the cross and began the passion of What are we to make of this scene? We might ask if our Lord. What a contrast a week makes. From he's really a king like David, why doesn't he show a ecstasy to agony to provide eternal ecstasy for us! little more of his royalty? Where’s the glamour and glitz of a real king? I mean, really, here’s Jesus and if Since the time of King David, some 900 years you think about it he is not much of a star. He rides in previous, Jerusalem was the hometown of the kings of on a donkey, trailed by the yelling mob of ragtag Israel. During Jesus time there was no real king. children and not always believing disciples. Yes, I Caesar of Rome had conquered Palestine, and he said, “not always believing” because listen to the text; allowed Herod to wear the title of king while his His disciples did not understand these things at first, prefect, Pontius Pilate, had control over all substantial but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered matters of state. that these things had been written about him and had So here comes Jesus into Jerusalem, riding through been done to him. Can this be the king of the world? the streets as if he were king David coming home 4 The shouts seem confusing in a way. Even his own the city would welcome Jesus on Sunday with the didn’t recognize his mission! words, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," and just five days later condemn him with the The emphasis in the Bible is not so much on how words, "Crucify him"? The story proceeds like a Jesus comes into Jerusalem for the last time, but what Greek drama from triumph to tragedy. Ah, but he's coming to do. There on its streets he will retrace there’s a twist. Tragedy converts to triumph in the his steps on Friday, not carried by a donkey, but resurrection. Christ won after all! carrying part of the cross across his shoulders to his final torture-death – the death of a common criminal. No matter how fickle the Jews were, I think that you In Jerusalem in just a few days, Jesus will offer up to and I are just as fickle as those Jerusalemites 2000 God his Heavenly Father the sacrifice of his own life years ago. We have the same inherited DNA from as full compensation to the sins of the whole world. Adam and hence, the same symptoms. We are sinners No one seems to grasp that yet. led by our inners selves. After all, we are the ones who pray the words, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be The people themselves predicted this when they said, done," and then we go off to do things our way. The "Hosanna!" which means, "save us now." Little did result is that so often our will gets done and not His. many of them know that he indeed was doing just We are the ones who look at the cross up here week that. Have you ever considered how strange it is that after week, praying to the one who died there for us, 5 and do not give ourselves to those around us in need Righteous one into the Unrighteous One, dying in our as He did.