Palm Sunday 13 April 2025 Greeting the Lord
Our waving of the palms signifies our joy at seeing Our Lord enter our domain. We are glad to see Him.
In the original Palm Sunday the people turned quickly from welcoming Jesus to calling out for His death.
We learn from this that to welcome the Saviour it has to come from the heart.
We are glad to see Him because of who He is, and not just in response to prevailing circumstances, where we might be glad one day, but not the next.
Our gladness will require a certain amount of faith insofar as we do not know what is coming, certainly not in detail.
But whatever our problems we are saved from them by the Saviour.
Having the Saviour on hand is like having the key to all locks.
The Jews were happy with Our Lord’s healing miracles, but not so keen on His demands – such as to take up their crosses daily.
They wanted life to be easy, free from sickness and struggle.
People today still see God as a fixer of problems - like a secretary.
They do not want to know Him beyond that point.
He wants to know us, however, and to bring us to a level of trust and obedience to Him. Joyfully not grudgingly.
So our welcome stays at the same pitch all the way through. Our Palm Sunday does not turn into Good Friday; it stays at Hosanna to the King.
But if we should get this wrong, God can still work things to our advantage. As He did on that first Holy Week. The infidelity of the Jews led to the Crucifixion and that led to the New Covenant in the Blood of Christ.
The more we reject, the more He offers us mercy.
The one who has been forgiven more will be more grateful (Lk 7,43). This is our position, today and through this Holy Week.
We marvel at God's reversal of the usual way things are done. Injuries usually bring hatred and the desire for revenge - not in this case.
Our Lord does not hate the people for what they are doing; He does not forget why He came – to save sinners, to save the world. Hosanna to the King!
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