Palm Sunday

Beholding our King on Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday we believers greet our king, the Word of God made flesh. Christ is greeted not simply as the One who came to us once riding on a donkey, but as the One who is always present with us, coming to us in every act of love, in all our acts of mercy and kindness, in our moments of prayer, and especially as we celebrate every Eucharist. He comes to deliver us from death by His death and Resurrection. He comes to us as the King who liberates us from the the bondage of sin and death. It is on Palm Sunday that we behold the King Who is the vanquisher of death and the giver of life.

Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ into the royal city of Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He Himself had sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as a king. A large crowd met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving palm branches and placing their garments in His path. They greeted Him with these words: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13).

His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the messianic prophecies about the king who will enter his holy city to establish a final kingdom. “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zech 9:9).

This triumphal entry into the holy city was extremely short-lived, for Jesus entered openly into the midst of His enemies, publicly saying and doing those things which mostly enrage them. The people themselves would soon reject Him, for they misread His brief earthly triumph as a sign of His emergence as a political messiah who will lead them to the glories of an earthly kingdom.

On Palm Sunday palm and willow branches are blessed in the Church, and we raise them up and greet the King and Ruler of our life. We take them in order to reaffirm our baptismal pledges. As the One who raised Lazarus and entered Jerusalem to go to His voluntary Passion stands in our midst, we are faced with the same question addressed to us at baptism: “Do you accept Christ?” We give our answer by daring to take the branch and raise it up: “I accept Him as King and God!”

Thus, on the eve of Christ’s Passion, in the celebration of the joyful cycle of the triumphant days of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, we reunite ourselves to Christ, affirm His Lordship over the totality of our life, and express our readiness to follow Him to His Kingdom.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Photos: The baptism, on Lazarus Saturday, of Vashon Islander Richard Odell, who will now go by the name of Christopher.

Sunday April 9, 2017 / March 27, 2017
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
Great Lent. Fish Allowed
St. Matrona of Thessalonica (4th c.).
Martyrs Manuel and Theodosius (304).
Venerable John the Clairvoyant of Lycopolis, anchorite of Egypt (394).
Venerable Cyricus (Quiricus), monk, of Thrace.
Prophet Hanani (Ananias).
Venerable Paul, bishop of Corinth (ca. 925).
Venerable Paphnutius, disciple of St. Anthony the Great (4th c.).
St. Ephraim of Rostov (1454).
Venerable Alexander, abbot of Voche, near Galich (on the Volga) (16th c.).
St. Anthony, metropolitan of Tobolsk (1740).
Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos on Mt. Athos “Glykophylousa” (“Sweet-kissing”) and “Of the Akathist”.
St. Rupert, bishop of Salzburg (718).
Martyrs John and Baruch (Greek).
St. Eutyches, monk (Greek).

The Scripture Readings

Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

21 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

Matthew 21:15-17

15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Philippians 4:4-9

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

John 12:1-18

The Anointing at Bethany

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”

14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.