My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE TRIUMPH OF PALM SUNDAY
(Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40)
"The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees
and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the
name of the LORD!’
The King of Israel!’
Then Jesus, when He found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
‘Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.’
…Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus
out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this
reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done
this sign" (John 12:12:1-18).
HOMILY DELIVERED ON PALM SUNDAY
Saint Gregoy Palamas
IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee," said God through Isaiah (Isaiah 49:8). It is good day to speak these words of the Apostle to your charity: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). "Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us work the works of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day" (Romans 13:12-13). The commemoration of Christ’s SAVING PASSION is at hand, and the new, great spiritual Passover, which is the reward for dispassion and the prelude of the world to come. Lazarus proclaims it in advance by coming back from the depths of Hades and rising from the dead on the fourth day just by the voice and command of God, Who has power over life and death (John 11:1-45). By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, children and simple people sing praises in advance to the Redeemer from death, who brings souls up from Hades and gives souls and bodies Eternal Life.
"What man is he that desireth life and to see good days? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile: depart from evil and do good" (Psalm 34:12-14; cf. 1 Peter 3:10-11). Evil means gluttony, drunkenness and dissolute living. Evil means vainglory, arrogance and pride. Let everyone turn aside from such vices and do those things which are good. What are they? Self-control, fasting, charity, righteousness, almsgiving, forebrance, love, humility. That by so doing we may worthily partake of the Lamb of God Who was sacrificed for our sake, and so receive the earnest of incorruption, and keep it as an assurance of the inheritance promised to us in heaven. Is it hard to do good, and are the virtues more difficult than the vices? That is certainly not how I see it.
Notice that the Father and the Son are of equal honor and have the same will. The words are in the form of a prayer for the sake of the crowd standing by , but they are not words of prayer but of Lordship and absolute authority. "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43). And at once the man who has been dead four days stood before Him alive. Did this come about by the command of the Life-Giver or His prayer? He cried with a loud voice, again on account of the bystanders, since He could have raised him not only by using His normal voice, but just by His will alone.
The simple people believed Him in every respect, and did not keep their faith quiet, but began to preach His Divinity by deeds and words. After the raising of Lazarus on the fourth day the Lord found an ass, and, when His disciples had made it ready, as the Evangelist Matthew tells us (Matthew 21:1-11), He sat upon it and entered Jerusalem, as had been foretold in Zechariah’s prophecy: "Do not fear, O daughter of Zion: behold thy king cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5). The Prophet shows by these words that his king in the prophecy is the only true King of Zion." "Your king," he says, "does not arouse fear in those who see him. Nor is he an oppressor or an evildoer accompanied by shield-bearers and spearmen, trailing behind him a host of foot-soldiers and cavalry; passing his life in greed for gain, demanding taxes and tributes, and unpleasant and harmful labors and services. By contrast, His banner is HUMILITY, POVERTY AND LOWLINESS, AND HE ENTERS UPON AN ASS, WITHOUT ANY HUMAN PRETENSIONS AT ALL. He is the Righteous King WHO RIGHTEOUSLY SAVES. HE IS MEEK, AND MEEKNESS IS HIS DISTINCTIVE WORK." The Lord said of Himself, "Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29).
So the King Who had raised Lazarus from the dead entered Jerusalem sitting upon an ass. Everyone, children, men, old people, immediately spread their garments in the way. They took palm branches, which are SYMBOLS OF VICTORY, and went to meet Him as the Life-Giver and Victor over death. They fell at His feet and escorted Him in procession, singing together, not just outside but also inside the precincts of the Temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna in the highest" (Matthew 21:9). "HOSANNA" IS A SONG OR PRAISE DIRECTED TO GOD, WHICH MEANS, "SAVE US." The additional words, "in the highest" show that He is not only praised on earth, nor only by men, BUT ALSO BY THE HEAVENLY ANGELS ON HIGH.
(To be continued)
____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape In His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 