Lenten Meditations: Palm Sunday

Apr 5, 2020 by

                                 Psalm                               Old Testament                Epistle                              Gospel

Apr 5 am: 24, 29
pm: 103
am: Zech 9:9-12
pm: Zech 12:9-13:9
1 Tim 6:12-16 Luke 19:41-48

 

PALM SUNDAY

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Here on the Feast of Passover we see an interesting occurrence whereby the Hebrew people are welcoming Jesus with a phrase often associated with the Feast of Tabernacles. The term Hosanna, originally was a word of urgent supplication, meaning something like: Come to our aid! The priests would repeat it in a monotone on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, while processing seven times around the altar of sacrifice, as an urgent prayer for rain. The Feast of Tabernacles gradually changed from a feast of petition into one of praise, so too the cry for help turned more and more into a shout of jubilation.

 

By the time of Jesus, the word had also acquired Messianic overtones. In the Hosanna acclamation, then, we find an expression of the complex emotions of the pilgrims accompanying Jesus and of his disciples: joyful praise of God at the moment of the processional entry, hope that the hour of the Messiah had arrived, and at the same time a prayer that the Davidic kingship and hence God’s kingship over Israel would be reestablished.

 

Today we commemorate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem for the completion of the Paschal Mystery. While the Christian observance festival has early roots in the Eastern Church dating to St. Cyril of Jerusalem and the desert fathers of Egypt and Syria. The first evidence we find in the West is in the 7th Century through the Sacramentary of St. Gregory.

 

MEDITATION OF THE DAY:

No doubt the verse from Timothy  where he writes “Take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and to which you made the good confession before many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:12) is a phrase being thought of by many as they pray for their loved ones battling the COVID -19 Virus.  This disease has given many a new challenge of how to fight the good fight of faith and stand firmly anchored in the Word made Flesh and the power of the Spirit. This disease has been a harsh reminder a perfect world is far from us.  Even the best and the brightest although endowed by God are challenged by these circumstances and we have to include  Christ as a place to turn. He alone has the power to effect what we need in this present hour. At the same time we  for our part even in the most challenging of circumstances must take hold, must claim the faith of Christ crucified despite the world suggesting that such faith is foolhardy. Paul knew that there would be challenges now as there were then  such as this and so he is imply stating : “You’ve confessed to others you are now a Christian, you are called to follow Jesus – so don’t give– fight the good fight of faith because there is victory. Difficult to keep in mind but perhaps its no accident that the crisis escalated amidst Lent and into Holy Week. Something to wonder about .

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY: Lord Jesus Christ, You are King of kings, yet you humbled yourself to bear our flesh and lowered yourself to become like us. .. We join our voices with the Palm Sunday crowd to say, “Hosanna! Save us!” Lord Jesus Christ, we live in a frightening world, menaced by a tiny virus we cannot see and cannot see coming. Some of us are sick. Some of us have been sick. Some of us will be sick. All of us are afraid of being sick. Lord Jesus Christ, hosanna. Save us, we pray. Amen.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him”.…— St. Andrew of Crete,  On Palm Sunday [A.D. 726).

 

HOLY WEEK DISCIPLINE: Read Matthew 21:1-11.What “garments” do I need to lay down before my God? Can you reflect on this avoiding any self -righteousness? We are called to be living testimonies, share with another the fruit of this discipline. On a lighter note, this is also known in some places as “Fig Sunday” due to the tradition that Christ ate figs after his entry into Jerusalem. Adding some type of figs to your meal would be a nice touch or perhaps with those who have less than you.

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