Scripture: Mark 11:8
Many people spread out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from the fields.
Thought for the Day: About this time two years ago, someone asked me about the Palms used on Psalm Sunday. My initial answer was a bit flippant as I thought the answer was simple — it was Palm Sunday and so we use Palms. My answer was not satisfactory, so I needed to do some research. Come to find out, many scholars believe that a tradition from the Jewish festival called Sukkoth was used as Jesus entered Jerusalem even though it was not Sukkoth, but the festival of Passover. First, the festival of Sukkoth was one of the more festive and joyful occasions in the Jewish year, and it also focused on Psalm 118 where words like: …you are my saving help are found. During Sukkoth, leafy branches were waved as part of the celebration. Could it be that for those who gathered, the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem was God’s fulfillment of the divine saving work? It’s a little like the Christmas message of God’s love being born into our lives at a time other than December 25. God is not tied to our calendar, so maybe it wouldn’t be strange for us to sing a Christmas carol and even cut some evergreen branches in July if we felt the Good News of Christ’s birth in the heat of summer. It seems as if the same might have been true for those who welcomed Jesus with Palm branches.
Prayer: May I see the magnificence of this celebration, O God who gifted us with the Saving One. Let me be less concerned about the date on the calendar and more appreciative of the beautiful gift. Amen.
WORK DAY
Saturday
9am – 11am
THIS SUNDAY
