Hey everybody this is Steve and sometimes the most gentle voices tell us the most important
things.
After 40 days of Great Lent--of intense prayer and fasting, of contrition and repentance--the
tone shifts a bit.
[I Take a Nap Here]
Together, the Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday are a sort of a bridge between Great
Lent and Holy Week.
On Palm Sunday in particular, we ease up on our fasting by eating fish.
And the services are marked by bright colors and joyful celebration.
Yet it’s not just a bridge.
Palm Sunday also exists in the tension between joy and lament: between praise and betrayal.
And, as we’ll see, it’s a tension that’s resolved by the joy and gentleness of children.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves.
So let’s set the stage for what’s happening on Palm Sunday by first taking a quick look
at the day that precedes it: the Saturday of Lazaros.
That’s when we celebrate Jesus resurrecting His friend.
As we read in the Gospel for that day, Lazaros was dead and buried for four days.
That’s a significant detail because people believed that, while the soul hung around
the body for a few days after death, Lazaros’ soul was gone by that point.
He was dead-dead.
[Very Dead, Mr Spock]
But Jesus approaches His friend’s tomb, requests that people roll away the stone in
front of the tomb, and then commands with a loud voice, “Lazaros come out.”[a][b]
It was a great miracle!
And, as we read at the end of the day’s Gospel reading, “many of the Jews who had
come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.”
[c]
This crowd of people started telling others, and word of this great miracle spread quickly!
But, not everyone received the news with the same joy and excitement.
[Stanley Not Amused]
In the twelve verses between the Gospel readings for the Saturday of Lazaros and Palm Sunday,
we read that the chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council and discussed their fears
about Jesus.
They saw that Jesus was doing great things, that His following was growing.
And this scared them.
Because Israel was living under the rule of the Roman Empire.
And the Romans didn’t appreciate threats to their power.
The chief priests and the Pharisees were afraid that the authorities would see this large
following gathering around Jesus and see it as the beginning of an insurrection, a revolt.
And they were afraid that the Romans would respond by destroying, not just Jesus, but
the entire Jewish nation.
So the leaders decided that “it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people,
and not that the whole nation should perish.”[d]
They decided that they would put Jesus to death.
And they soon had help from one of the Lord’s disciples.
This leads us into the Gospel Reading for Palm Sunday, which begins with Jesus visiting
Lazaros in Bethany.[e]
This should have been a joyous meeting, but unfortunately, this is where we see the plot
to kill Jesus expand to include Judas.
Jesus sits down to eat with His disciples.
And, while they’re at the table, Mary, the sister of Lazaros, takes costly oil and uses
it to anoint the feet of Jesus.
Jesus had just brought her brother back from the dead.
She was grateful, and wanted to honor the Lord.
Yet Judas, who of course was about to betray Jesus, complained.
He said Mary should have sold the oil and given the money to the poor, rather than waste
it anointing the Lord’s feet.[f]
That might sound generous or socially conscious.
But St John the Evangelist tells us that Judas wasn’t actually concerned about the poor.
He was a thief.
And he was in charge of the community’s money box.
So he really wanted that money somewhere he could steal it.
And Judas’ greed would be part of what led him to conspire to betray Jesus for just a
bit of silver.
So this is the tension we experience on Palm Sunday: a tension between the joy of receiving
Christ and the knowledge that the plot to kill Him was already in motion.
And we see a similar tension in the Epistle reading for Palm Sunday.
Even if it’s not obvious at first glance.
Ever since the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we’ve been reading from St Paul’s Epistle to the
Hebrews.
But on Palm Sunday the Church reads from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.
And, like the Gospel reading, the Epistle is obviously about joy.
I mean, just consider the very first verse: “Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again
I will say, rejoice.”[g]
But, just as with the Gospel reading, there is more here than meets the eye.
Just two verses before our passage starts, Paul mentions a dispute between two Christians
named Euodia and Syntyche.
We don’t know what the dispute is about, but Paul urges them to “be of the same mind
in the Lord.”
[h]
And he asks the other Christians in Philippi to “help these women, for they have struggled
beside me in the work of the Gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers,
whose names are in the book of life.”
[i]
So, when Paul is telling the Philippians to rejoice, he’s doing it against the backdrop
of this intense disagreement.
And that’s surprising.
Just like it’s surprising that we rejoice on Palm Sunday even while we know that people
(including one of His closest disciples) are planning to kill Jesus.
Remember, Jewish leaders were plotting because they were afraid that Roman authorities would
view Jesus as the potential leader of a rebellion.
And this fear developed because of who they believed the Messiah would be.
We know that Jesus is the Messiah: the Christ, the anointed One who came to deliver all creation
from sin, death, and the demons.
But, at the time, many people thought that the Messiah would be a military figure, a
great king who would lead an uprising to free Israel from their oppression and occupation.
Free Israel from the Roman Empire.
Which was super dangerous because, if they detected even the slightest hint of rebellion
brewing, well… let’s just say Rome didn’t mess around.
[“What did you say?” or “I will mess you up”]
But Jesus wasn’t interested in a political revolution.
As He said many times, His Kingdom is not of this world.[j]
Yet, after raising Lazaros (which was a major miracle), everyone heard about Jesus.
There was clearly something special about Him.
So, as He entered Jerusalem, people couldn’t help but wonder: is Jesus the Messiah we’ve
been waiting for, the man who was going to lead Israel to glory, to throw off Roman rule
and bring about a new Jewish kingdom?
I’ll let Luke answer.
[This is not gonna go the way you think]
Instead of delivering a fiery speech to rouse the people, Jesus enters Jerusalem quietly.
Instead of confidently riding in on the back of a warhorse or proudly in a mighty chariot,
He enters the city on the back of a humble donkey.
Jesus burst the bubbles of a lot of people that day.
Because, while the Messiah did show up, He wasn’t what many were expecting.
Yet, despite all that disappointment, some people still celebrated His entrance into
the great city of Jerusalem.
In fact, that celebration is what gives Palm Sunday its name.
“So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, ‘Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’”[k]
But the question we need to answer is: who exactly was celebrating?
Was it the people who were disappointed that Jesus didn’t enter the city as a victorious
political leader?
Was it the people who turned on Jesus just a few days later and demanded His crucifixion?
I mean, it certainly wasn’t the chief priests and Pharisees who were too busy plotting the
Lord’s death.
So, who’s left?
Well, according to the Scripture, and the hymns and icons of Palm Sunday, it was the
gentle ones that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem.
It was the children.
If you’ve ever taken a close look at an icon of Palm Sunday, you’ll notice that
there are two groups of people.
One group, the adults, stand to the side.
They look confused, and murmur among themselves.
They don’t know what to make of this Jesus, who enters the city on the back of a donkey.
On the other hand, there’s another group that looks joyful, so happy to see Jesus.
They run before him and drop palms on the road.
They even take off their cloaks and place them on the ground before Jesus.
These are the gentle ones: the children.
The prayers and hymns for Palm Sunday beautifully highlight that it was children in particular
who welcomed Jesus.
For example, here’s one of the hymns of Palm Sunday, the kontakion of the day, written
by St Romanos the Melodist in the 6th century:
“Mounted on the throne in heaven, Christ God, and on the colt on earth, you accepted
the praise of the angels and the hymn of the children who cried to you, ‘Blessed are
you who come to call back Adam.’”
[l]
And we actually see the same thing confirmed in the Scriptures.
In Matthew’s Gospel account, when Jesus enters Jerusalem He goes straight to the Temple
where He famously overturns the tables of the money changers.
And while the Jewish leaders were not pleased by this, others were:
“But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that He did, and heard
the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry.”[m]
So the hymns and icons and Scripture are all making the same point: that the children welcomed
Jesus into Jerusalem.
It was children in particular who laid palms on the ground, welcoming the Lord into their
city.
It was children, innocent and gentle, who saw Jesus for who He truly is: and rejoiced.
In the ancient world, children were often dismissed as not having the ability to reason
or think clearly.
So it’s surprising to see children realize something that educated and reasonable adults
didn’t.
And this itself is a sign of the miraculous.
Because, as my New Testament professor at seminary, Dr Bruce Beck, put it: “the children
were very young, and so spoke out of inspiration of the Holy Spirit rather than by their reasoning,
and their tongues were put to use as instruments of praise, as an awesome and terrible sign
from God that the King of Israel had entered His holy city.”[n]
And this is why St. Paul wrote to the Philippians while they were in the middle of a great disagreement.
It’s why he encouraged them, despite all the tension in the community, to be joyful.
To be like the children welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Because the children could see something that the adults, who were blinded by their fears
and divisions, couldn’t.
The children rejoiced when Jesus rode into Jerusalem because they weren’t concerned
with Roman politics.
And they weren’t expecting a military ruler to ride into the city and start a revolution.
You see, these children didn’t ground their identity in the political and religious systems
of the day.
Their hearts were open to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
So when the real Messiah finally comes, they’re ready.
Because Jesus didn’t come to play into anyone’s expectations.
He wasn’t here to support anyone’s political agenda or side in a silly dispute.
The Divine Son of God entered the City to take His rightful place as King of His people:
a King who would lead His people to freedom, not by spilling the blood of His enemies,
but by offering His own Body and Blood for the sake of all.
That’s why, of all the people in the city, it was the children who remembered the prophetic
words, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's
colt!” [o]
But unfortunately, the daughter of Zion did fear.
Which is why the educated and mature leaders plotted to kill Jesus.
The King was in their midst, and the grownups were too blinded by fear and self-interest
to see Him.
Just like the Philippians were too blinded by their disputes to see each other as living
icons of Christ who could rejoice in each other’s company rather than tear each other
down.
So St Paul tells the Philippians to not be anxious about anything.
To offer their prayers to God in a spirit of thanksgiving so that God can give them
what they need.
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.”[p]
Unfortunately, the word “keep” in this translation isn’t quite effective in fully
expressing what Paul is saying.
In the original Greek, Paul uses the word φρουρήσει to describe what God will
do to our hearts when we approach Him in a spirit of joy and thanksgiving.
And that word is better translated as “guard.”
In fact, it’s a military word that describes what happens when an army is in a city to
protect it.
So, even though our hearts may be weak and broken--which can lead us into division and
temptation if we’re not careful--the Lord is ready to strengthen our hearts.
The Lord is ready to post a guard in our hearts to support and protect us so we can be free
to give our full attention to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This guarding is connected with the redemption we explored in episode 173: freedom from bad
things so we can be free to pursue the Good.
And, in an amazing paradox, when the Lord is guarding our hearts with His invincible
strength, when the King is in His City, this won’t manifest in us as aggression or judgment
or pridefully taking charge.
As Paul writes, when God is in our hearts, everyone will be able to see our gentleness.
[q]
Paul returns to this theme of gentleness several times in his letters.
And it’s always framed as the opposite of disputes and quarrels.
The sort of quarrel that divided Euodia and Syntyche; or that divided the disciples back
in episode 173.
Or that would soon divide Jerusalem during Holy Week.
In his letter to Titus, for example, Paul tells his spiritual son to “Remind [the
Christians] to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good
work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be *gentle*, and to show every courtesy
to everyone.”[r]
And, in his first letter to another spiritual son, Timothy, Paul describes the characteristics
of a good bishop, and says that he “must be above reproach, married only once, temperate,
sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but *gentle*,
not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.”[s]
And, of course, gentleness is also a characteristic of Jesus Himself, Who rode into Jerusalem
without any fanfare or great displays of power but rather on the back of a humble donkey.
The children saw that the Lord’s Kingdom is not what the adults were expecting or hoping
for.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, they saw that Jesus did not take on flesh to take power or secure
His status like some conquering general.
No, Jesus came to offer us something more.
To redeem humanity so that we could enjoy eternal communion with the living God.
And the children rejoiced at this possibility!
Which is why we rejoice on the Saturday of Lazaros and Palm Sunday.
We’re aware of the tension and disagreements taking place behind the scenes of Christ’s
Entry into Jerusalem.
We know what’s coming during Holy Week.
Yet we don’t allow ourselves to get weighed down by the burden of that struggle.
Instead, we follow the advice of St Paul: to “rejoice in the Lord always.”[t]
Because even though Christ comes in ways that we don’t expect, even though He doesn’t
put an end to our earthly struggles, we see that He has something better in mind, something
that we can hold onto with anticipation, with hope, and above all with joy.
Because joy is, in a sense, the antidote to this struggle.
It is the best way to respond when it seems like things are not going well.
Our joy is not a temporary, earthly joy.
It isn’t something we create.
It isn’t the triumph of a general or the glory of a leader that has seized power.
It is the mysterious joy of the Son of God voluntarily walking into certain defeat.
It is the joy of seeing Jesus, who has just raised Lazarus from the grave, paradoxically
choose to walk to His own grave.
It is the joy of seeing Jesus in the midst of His people: people who were disappointed
by His weakness, people who would soon call for His blood.
People who wanted a different Messiah; *not* the kind who would enter a city on the back
of a donkey.
Yet despite this, Jesus meekly goes to His death, as foretold in the Scripture.
With gentleness and humility, He goes to save the very people who will soon condemn Him.
Because God believes in us, even when we don’t believe in Him.
This is the message the Church has chosen to remember in the period between Great Lent
and Holy Week.
Because this is the one that we as Christians are called to live in our daily lives.
In our most difficult and fearful moments, we are called to remember the love of God
and the eternal Kingdom He has established for us.
And we are called to follow the advice of St Paul and the example of the little children
who welcome the Lord into Jerusalem with joy and gladness.
The example of those whose hearts saw who the Messiah really is.
The example of the gentle voices that proclaimed, “Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”[u]
So let's Be the Bee, live with joy and gentleness.
Be the bee and live Orthodoxy.
Remember to like and subscribe.
And share.
I'll see you all, next week.
This is our last episode for a few weeks.
We’re planning on returning with 3 or 4 new episodes to end this season of “Be the
Bee,” so look for those in the weeks ahead.
And, more importantly, have a blessed Holy Week and joyous Pascha.
God bless you!
[a]John 11:43 [b]We can drop "Lazarus Come Forth" BROLL
into here, instead of just the onscreen text.
We can have the citation onscreen as an overlay.
[c](John 11:45) [d](John 11:50)
[e]"Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazaros was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."
(John 12:1) [f]"Why was this ointment not sold for three
hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
(John 12:5) [g](Philippians 4:4)
[h](Philippians 4:2) [i](Philippians 4:3)
[j]"My Kingdom is not of this world."
(John 18:36) [k](John 13)
[l]Kontakion of Palm Sunday [m](Matthew 21:15)
[n]Dr Bruce Beck [o](Zechariah 9:9, John 12:15)
[p](Philippians 4:7) [q]"Let your gentleness be known to all men.
The Lord is at hand."
(Philippians 4:5) [r]"Remind them to be subject to rulers and
authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one,
to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone."
(Titus 3:1-2) [s]" A bishop must be above reproach, married
only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard,
not violent but *gentle*, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.”
(1 Timothy 3:2-3) [t](Philippians 4:$)
[u](John 12:13)