Readings for Palm and Passion Sunday

Palm Readings : Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 • Luke 19:28-40


Passion Readings:Isaiah 50:4-9a • Psalm 31:9-16 • Philippians 2:5-11 • Luke 22:14-23:56 or Luke 23:1-49


Prayer for Holy Week
Compassionate God,your love finds full expression in the gift of Jesus Christ your Son,who willingly met betrayal and death to set us free.Give us courage to live faithfully in these days until we greet the glory of our risen Savior. Amen.






This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. It begins with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Let us look at the Palm Sunday readings first.



















Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
This is a Psalm of joy, of celebration and of thanksgiving. It is a song of entrance. Originally the psalm marks the entrance of someone, a king or a worshipper, as they enter the holy Temple in Jerusalem .


This Psalm presents a dialogue between someone who is on the inside and one who is entering. There is a reminder to the one coming in that all who enter need be righteous. This reflects the priestly understanding that all who approach the altar of God need to be pure.



Bind the festal procession with branches...These words reflect a liturgical rite. Branches are brought to the altar. In the feast of tabernacles, olive branches were used in worship


The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. These verses are frequently quoted in the New Testament, e.g. Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7-8. They were very important for the early Church in their attempt to understand the rejection and execution of Jesus by his people.



Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD. This is a priestly blessing extended to those who are entering...



This Psalm with it branches and it s celebration of the entrance of one who is righteous, reflects the mood of Palm Sunday; Jesus enters Jerusalem and is greeted with palm branches strewn on his way.


Reflections:

• "The stone that the builders reject has become the chief cornerstone." Such a powerful verse, used to describe Christ by the prophets. But good for us too: when others reject us, God accepts us. In God, we can become the cornerstone, not a rejected scrap. Hope!


• "This is the Lord's doing." Giving credit where credit is due. We're not so good at that many times. What do we need to remember is "the Lord's doing."


• "This is the day that the Lord has made." This is such a popular opening to worship. Why do we like this verse so much? It does a good job of reminding us of the fact that each day is God's precious gift to us.


• “Come on in and disturb our perfect lives. You are the Christ for us today.” These words are from Benedictine Joan Chichester; they reflect the welcome that is to be extended to anyone who comes to our gate, our doorway. The righteous are welcomed. The rejected too. As Christ enters Jerusalem, so many come through our church doors. How do we welcome them?

Luke 19:28-40

The triumphant palm procession, reenacted around the world on Palm Sunday.

Jesus intended a demonstration as he approached Jerusalem.Luke draws this out for the readers in echoing Zecheriah 9 9-10 and in his redaction of Psalm 118.26. This is the blessing pronounced on pilgrims coming up to the temple for a festival now changed to King or Lord to highlight the belief that we are to presume the disciples believe themselves to be taking part in a coronation procession for a Messiah – the donkey stressing the non- military – the passive authority that will establish the universal kingdom of peace.

• "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there . . . " Not necessarily Jesus prophesying, as some have interpreted. Just Jesus telling them of the plans he has made ahead of time. We never seem satisfied with things just happening in the realm of the natural - we always seem to want to add a supernatural element to scripture, as if it is not powerful enough ...


• "began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power they had seen" I wonder why it is we praise God ? So why praise God? Because God is God!? Because God does things for us? Because we want to stay on God's good side?"


• saying, 'peace on earth'" Ironic that they would say these words what they really wanted was for Jesus to become a revolutionary leader, sword in hand. Peace for whom?
  

There is a dark backdrop to the celebrations of Palm Sunday. The readings for passion Sunday will be considered in the next post.