One eye open……. okay what day is this? Oh, I know, it’s the weekend and I don’t have to make the commute today. The other eye open……… Sunday. Oh my gosh, next week’s Easter, Palm Sunday!…….. get up!
As I thrashed about pouring down some coffee and a bagel (cream cheese, my prize for the day) I thought,………….. Palm Sunday……… PALM Sunday. It has been so long that I studied the story, I went to the resource of today, Google!
Here is what Google returned as a description of what “Palm” Sunday is:
……………………………………………………
PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday commemorates Christ's triumphant arrival in Jerusalem to the cheers
of the crowd.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem,
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of
Israel!"
(John 12: 12-13)
Later in that week many of the people in that cheering crowd would be among those shouting that Jesus should be executed.
Symbolic
Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about
the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to
think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical
in proclaiming their support.
Church Services
In many churches, during Palm Sunday services, large palm branches are carried
in processions.
In Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, members of the congregation hold small crosses made of palm leaf, both to remember the palm leaves which the people of Jerusalem waved when Jesus arrived, and to remember the cross on which he died.
Some Christians display the crosses from that service in their homes during the year as a symbol of their faith. The crosses are burned at the start of Lent the next year to provide the ash for Ash Wednesday.
Hymns for Palm Sunday usually include Ride on, Ride on in Majesty, and All glory, laud and honour.
Songs may include Make Way, Hosanna, and (for children) We have a King who Rides a Donkey.
…………………………………………………………………….
Okay, from this, I have found that I should use this day to remind me of a time possibly that I would be two faced in my faith and my trust in God, and in his Son, Jesus the Christ….also, I have a King that rides a Donkey.
Now this is a wake up call! I don’t think so……..
Did it say one little bit about why Christ was traveling to Jerusalem?
It was God’s decision, with Jesus’ obedience that he go to Jerusalem on the back of
the humble donkey to say “that’s OK, somebody gotta do it, and I choose me”, “I choose
me to give myself, my blood and flesh, not the leaf of a tree, for my bothers and sisters, those who will follow me”, to offer them “life eternal”.
Know what? I accept that gift and cherish the moment that Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
I can visualize a beam of light exuding from his body……… broadcasting: “put ME on trial, convict ME, sentence and TRY to kill ME” and in the end “why did I question you Father, in Thy Name, I trust”.
Of course with each leaf that comes falling down ……………. in the autumn of my life, I will associate it with HIS gift, (Palm, Elm, Oak……….) J
My prayer: Oh Dear God, in these moments of symbolism and sensationalism, help us to understand messages you send and help us to associate and to practice those same messages…….. Amen and Amen.
You don’t have to do much to receive this gift, it’s easy, say with me:
“In God We Trust”
Happy Palm Sunday
Rich
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