A Homily given by Fr. Ben Jones,

For St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

On the Sunday next before Easter,

commonly called Palm Sunday; A.D. 2010.

“What’s in a Word?; The Word.”

+In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son,and of God the Holy Ghost, Amen.

St. Matthew 27:54.

“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God.”

Today being the sixth and final Sunday in Lent, we begin to think about the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, the victory that was won for us by Christ on the cross, and finally, can my fast come to an end!!!  However, before we can begin to focus on these, we must travel with Jesus step by step by step through His “Passion”, in what we know as Holy Week and to experience the prophecies of the coming Messiah on Holy Saturday.  As you heard just a few minutes ago, we started the “Passion” Gospel accounts which will be read all through Holy Week ending on Good Friday.  We build the entire “Passion of Christ” from all of these accounts.  Well, wait a minute, the bulletin for today says Palm Sunday and yet we heard a Passion Gospel account.  Here is the answer.  Palm Sunday is also known as the Second Sunday in Passiontide.

Today we have two liturgies.  The Palms were blessed in a form of what is known as the “Liturgy of the Palms”.  The Clergy was vested in the liturgical color of Red, the color of fire, which symbolizes the presence of God.  As well Red signifies the color of blood which represents our anticipation of the death of Jesus.  

Following the procession, the Clergy vested in Violet for the Liturgy of the Passion, symbolizing the pain and suffering of Christ during His trial and Crucifixion, and for us symbolizing our penitence in the disciplines of repentance, fasting, and prayer.  Let’s take a closer look at Palm Sunday which introduces Holy Week.

Following the blessing of the Palms we experienced a procession that was different from other Sunday processions.  These two distinctive ceremonies for Palm Sunday represent Jesus’ “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem in the days before His Passion.  We carry the Palms and Palm Crosses as a symbol of the triumph and the victory that Jesus Christ won for us on the Cross in taking away the grip of sin and evil, being our Eternal protector against Satan.  The “Triumphant Entry” accounts can be found in all four gospel accounts.  The disciples placed their cloaks on the back of the donkey so as to make the ride more comfortable for their Lord.  When Jesus descended the Mount of Olives to enter the city of Jerusalem, “a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest”.1  Together we recite part of the last verse of this account from St. Matthew just before the Canon of the Consecration in the form called the Benedictus, qui venit.  The Hebrew equivalent of Hosanna means “great salvation”.  The Greek equivalent of Hosanna is a transliteration of the Hebrew, meaning, “Save, I beseech thee”.  What does this “Triumphant Entry” mean for us??

The Israelites were proclaiming Christ as an earthly King of Israel.  You see, the Roman occupation of Israel was extremely oppressive to the people who looked for relief, immediate relief.  The Prophet Zechariah spoke this prophecy in an attempt for the Jewish nation to focus not on the immediate, but for the Heavenly King and His Kingdom to come.  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”2  History shows us that Alexander the Great passed by Jerusalem on several occasions.  Israel feared the coming of Alexander the Great for they knew of his wrath that was unleashed upon the Samaritans.  However, the Prophet Zechariah spoke of rejoicing and not fear.  The Jewish nation saw Jesus riding on a young donkey.  Could this be our new King??

He didn’t ride in on a horse which was the sign of power, one ready for war, to break down and to conquer, to bring destruction and devastation.  The donkey was an animal of peace.  It was seen that a King riding upon a donkey was coming in peace.  Jesus rode into Jerusalem in peace, as a sign of great humility.  Here is what was behind that sign of great humility.

Jesus was prepared for this celebration.  He yielded Himself to it, for He knows what will follow in the next few days.  There was no need for Him to attempt an escape from the zeal of those who would make Him a King.  After all, He was their King; their Heavenly King.  They would see.  Jesus was deliberately fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy of His Messiahship and the kind of Messiah that He would be.  Jesus is presenting Himself as the Christ, the Messiah, that is, the Saviour sent from God.  His time has come.  Jesus was prepared to usher in deliverance, restoration, and redemption; to complete His Father’s work, through the Cross.

So let’s pull the “Triumphant Entry” of Palm Sunday together with the “Passion of Christ”.  Humility and obedience are the two keys.  We follow the example set before us by Jesus.  He approached His Father in humility.  He approaches us in humility.  We in turn approach Him in humility, with a “humble and contrite heart”.  For today and in the coming week when we hear the teachings of the Church concerning the “Passion of Christ”, the Church is not talking about Christ being passionate.  It has nothing to do with emotions.  The Church is teaching that Christ was passive; allowing Himself to be acted on by the people around Him.  It is all summed up in that moment in the garden when Christ says, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be”?3  {Let’s talk numbers!!  A Roman Legion = 6,000 soldiers.  Do the math!!  At least 72,000 angels would come to His rescue in an instant!!}  Jesus stood strong and focused in His Fathers work.  THAT IS His passion, THE CHOICE not to get rescued.  THAT IS His passion, THE CHOICE not to protect Himself or to hide in the shadows, but rather to submit to His captors.  THAT IS His passion, to let the authorities and the crowds to act upon Him as a HUMAN BEING.  His ultimate decision was to complete His Father’s work.  That is His passion. He was obedient to His Father, even to His death on the Cross.

What is our passion??  What do we feel in our hearts??  Do we exhibit pride, greed, and arrogance, and sow fear in the example of Alexander the Great??  Or do we exhibit humility, obedience, meekness, and peace in the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ comes to each and every one of us through His Body and Blood each and every time we come to His Throne of Grace, His Holy Altar.

When we approach Him, we participate in His righteous salvation through His “Triumphant Entry” and His Passion.  Unlike the centurion who at the foot of the cross stated in his faith that “truly this was the Son of God”, we BOLDLY proclaim our faith, “truly this is the Son of God”.

AMEN.

+

“AND NOW UNTO GOD THE FATHER,

GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST;

BE ASCRIBED ALL MIGHT,

MAJESTY, POWER, AND DOMINION,

MOST JUSTLY DUE THIS DAY,

BOTH NOW, AND FOREVER,

WORLD WITHOUT END.

AMEN.”

1 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 21:8-9.

2 The Book of the Prophet Zechariah 9:9.

3 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 26:53.