Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

You can find a listing of all the scripture passages for Palm Sunday at the Revised Common Lectionary site:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=76

This Sunday, we will read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 and Mark 11:1-11 for the Liturgy of the Palms, the Sunday we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is the day of an all-time high marking the start of Holy Week, a journey that will take us through an all-time low.

From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, we observe the full range of the human experience: triumph, joy, betrayal, courage, confusion, defeat, faith, loss, loyalty, hope, and tragedy. Holy Week shows us Christ and his followers living out the same sublime and devastating experiences we encounter in our lives. Jesus promises more to the highs and lows of life, though: he takes our unbearable heartbreak and promises us a light and life brighter than we can imagine.

As Jesus rides to Jerusalem amid the waving of palm branches, the people shout “Hosanna!” We use this as a word of praise, but it also means “Help Us!” in Hebrew. Seven days after Palm Sunday, we arrive on Easter Sunday awash in the grace and glory of the Risen Christ. Still, our exclamation is “Hosanna!” We praise you Lord, Help Us! And he does. Over and over.

Hosanna! Blessed is the one who came to conquer death that we might live. Hosanna indeed!