Palm Sunday

Al Masih Qam! Hakkan Qam!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Grace and Peace to you in this Easter season! I hope that your holiday was full of joyful remembrances of all that God has done for us through Christ—overcoming death and the grave, dispelling the darkness of this world, and giving us cause to hope! I had a truly unforgettable Holy Week, spent in the city of Jesus’ triumphal entry, his final prophetic words, his last meal with his disciples, his agonizing hours of prayer, his betrayal, arrest, imprisonment, crucifixion, and finally in the quiet dawn of the third day, his mysterious and glorious resurrection. Instead of a huge single blog post, I will post little ones throughout the next week with different reflections on Holy Week.

Sunday, March 28, 2010, 2 PM

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives…A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ Matthew 21: 1, 8-9

The Palm Sunday procession down the Mount of Olives and into the Old City of Jerusalem was an experience unlike any other. I found myself holding my palm branch in a sea of Christians from all over the world, singing hymns in their own languages, bearing flags of different nations, carrying uniquely decorated palms, olive branches, and flowers. It was a stunningly beautiful reminder that the good news of Jesus Christ is for no particular people, for no particular language group, ethnic group, or gender group— it is for the world. I cannot help but think of the promise of God to Abraham from Genesis 22, that “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” All the nations of the earth. These are powerful words of hope, and for a brief time during this procession, I did not feel the differences between us- Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant; Eastern, Western; local or foreign—we shared something in this march that transcended all of these outer trappings of identity. We were united by our faith, and by the call of the people that still echoes two thousand years later: “Hosanna!”

After telling you of how wonderful this day was, I regret that I must tell you a negative aspect of this day. Many Palestinian Christians from the West Bank and Gaza were barred from entry into Jerusalem for the procession, and 11 people were arrested at the Bethlehem checkpoint during a non-violent protest against these restrictions of access to holy places. A reminder that we are a long way from having the freedom to pray when and where we want in this and many places.