Christians this morning marked Palm Sunday, marking the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the cheering crowds welcomed Him by placing palm leaves on the ground before Him.

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week leading up to Good Friday when Jesus was crucified on the cross followed by His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Palm branches are a widely recognised symbol of peace and victory, and in Biblical times were often thrown before the feet of a conquering hero in homage. When Jesus arrived in the Holy City, the Gospel writers said the crowds lay palm branches and clothes at His feet to honour him.

It had been predicted in the Old Testament that people would recognise the Messiah when he rode into the city, and they would then lay palms at His feet.

Now during Palm Sunday Mass, palms are distributed to parishioners who carry them in a ritual procession into church. The palms are blessed with holy water. People are now given small crosses, made of palms, to take home with them.

Later these are burnt to create the ashes that are put on people’s heads on Ash Wednesday (just before Lent starts) the following year. In parts of the world where palm trees don’t grow, flowers or olive branches are used instead.

A message for Palm Sunday

We all wonder what the future holds. More than that we play all manner of “games” to see if we can find out what’s going to happen. Some predictions are positive and some are negative depending on the outlook of the person making the prediction.

The people who wrote the books of the Bible had a unique attitude to time. They had learnt about the past and found God working in it. It made them believe that the future was in God’s hands as well. They looked at the future in faith. When the prophets applied their minds to it, they said, “Since mankind began with a golden era of bliss and peace in the Garden of Eden that was spoilt by human sin, he will one day return and re-assert his undisputed rule in Israel”. According to Zechariah that golden age would be inaugurated by God’s chosen representative riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Jesus knew the Old Testament, and he knew this prophecy. He understood the deep underlying yearnings and hopes that it enshrined. By initiating the events of Palm Sunday he was enacting the prayer he taught us for all time, “Thy Kingdom come”. He was acting out a prayer for peace, for wholeness, for justice, for godliness and for truth. The world still yearns for peace and justice, even in the middle of terrorism, war, crime and injustice. The top level conferences of world leaders still plan to bring in, item by item, greater peace and justice. And we still pray for it.

PRAYER THOUGHT

Ride on, ride on in majesty.