28 April 2024
Today, we celebrate the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, or, as this feast is also called, Palm Sunday.
The joyful triumph of the fickle crowd and the heart-clenching spiritual tension of the Saviour, Who is willingly and meekly walking towards His death, are intertwined in it.
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’, both the elderly and the young are crying out, people are waving palm branches and laying their clothes at the feet of the colt on which the Lord is riding into the ancient city.
They have waited so long for the one who will take upon Himself all the injustice, all the tribulations and troubles and resolve them. Who will throw off the yoke of the occupants and free his people. Who will return to them their former greatness and glory.
Christ is looking into these faces and souls and already hears the unanimous ‘Crucify! Crucify Him!’ — the dreadful words which those same people will shout very soon.
How hard it must be to see the future as clearly as the present. From the human point of view, how unbearable it is to see the true picture of what is happening behind the outward elation, to understand the deep meaning of events and the inevitability of the collapse of illusions, and yet to go forward.
Everything in this world is not new and tends to repeat itself. Earthly fame passes quickly: they have just shouted ‘Hosanna’, and only a few days later, they nail Him to a cross and part His garment.
And if someone suddenly decides that he has calculated everything and that everything is under supervision and everything is under control, all of a sudden, the sandcastle of self-reliance starts to crumble. The truth always defeats lies, and sooner or later, everything that is secret will be revealed, as God always has the last word in any story. It should never be forgotten by all people and, first and foremost, by people having power, which by definition is temporary.
The events of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, which we remember and relive again, are joyful and sad at the same time. They raise a question for everyone: and where am I in this event?
Am I with those who are rejoicing sincerely, like children did? Or with those who are with Christ today for personal gain, but will turn away from Him the next day? Or with those who have mistaken Christ for anyone else? Or with those who plot to murder Him out of jealousy? Or with those who stand by Him and will walk all the path to Golgotha with Him?
Palm Sunday, like the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, opens before us all the gloom of Passion Week — the great days in which the Lord accomplished the work of our salvation.
Ahead are Judas’ betrayal, the establishment of the Eucharist, the false kiss, the beating and mockery, the prison, the Cross and the Tomb, but, most importantly, ahead is His and our Victory — His glorious Resurrection.
I wholeheartedly greet you on the feast, dear brothers and sisters!
May Christ enter into our lives as well. May all of us try to be inseparable from Him and never doubt that He is the Lord of peace and He is Love, and that He came to take upon Himself our sorrows and sins and save us. I wish all of us to pass these days worthily, so as to meet the bright Pascha of the Lord with a pure heart.
All related news The joyful triumph of the fickle crowd and the heart-clenching spiritual tension of the Saviour, Who is willingly and meekly walking towards His death, are intertwined in it.
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’, both the elderly and the young are crying out, people are waving palm branches and laying their clothes at the feet of the colt on which the Lord is riding into the ancient city.
They have waited so long for the one who will take upon Himself all the injustice, all the tribulations and troubles and resolve them. Who will throw off the yoke of the occupants and free his people. Who will return to them their former greatness and glory.
Christ is looking into these faces and souls and already hears the unanimous ‘Crucify! Crucify Him!’ — the dreadful words which those same people will shout very soon.
How hard it must be to see the future as clearly as the present. From the human point of view, how unbearable it is to see the true picture of what is happening behind the outward elation, to understand the deep meaning of events and the inevitability of the collapse of illusions, and yet to go forward.
Everything in this world is not new and tends to repeat itself. Earthly fame passes quickly: they have just shouted ‘Hosanna’, and only a few days later, they nail Him to a cross and part His garment.
And if someone suddenly decides that he has calculated everything and that everything is under supervision and everything is under control, all of a sudden, the sandcastle of self-reliance starts to crumble. The truth always defeats lies, and sooner or later, everything that is secret will be revealed, as God always has the last word in any story. It should never be forgotten by all people and, first and foremost, by people having power, which by definition is temporary.
The events of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, which we remember and relive again, are joyful and sad at the same time. They raise a question for everyone: and where am I in this event?
Am I with those who are rejoicing sincerely, like children did? Or with those who are with Christ today for personal gain, but will turn away from Him the next day? Or with those who have mistaken Christ for anyone else? Or with those who plot to murder Him out of jealousy? Or with those who stand by Him and will walk all the path to Golgotha with Him?
Palm Sunday, like the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, opens before us all the gloom of Passion Week — the great days in which the Lord accomplished the work of our salvation.
Ahead are Judas’ betrayal, the establishment of the Eucharist, the false kiss, the beating and mockery, the prison, the Cross and the Tomb, but, most importantly, ahead is His and our Victory — His glorious Resurrection.
I wholeheartedly greet you on the feast, dear brothers and sisters!
May Christ enter into our lives as well. May all of us try to be inseparable from Him and never doubt that He is the Lord of peace and He is Love, and that He came to take upon Himself our sorrows and sins and save us. I wish all of us to pass these days worthily, so as to meet the bright Pascha of the Lord with a pure heart.
