From the Ashes - Palm Sunday

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Matthew 21:1–9 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Luke 19:28–38 ESV

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Irony in its finest How unique is it that here we see that celebration and utter complete joy expressed here. As people are yelling Hoseanna in the highest!

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Palm Sunday)

Palm Sunday (Dominica in Palmis). The Sunday before *Easter which introduces *Holy Week. The distinctive ceremonies of the day are the blessing of the palms and, in the W. Church and some E. Churches, the procession, representing the Lord’s triumphal entry into *Jerusalem a week before the Resurrection. The Palm Sunday procession is attested for Jerusalem as early as the 4th cent. by the ‘Pilgrimage of *Egeria’. In the W. the *Gallican *Bobbio Missal (8th cent.) contains a blessing of palms to be carried as symbols of the victory of Christ and protection against the devil; the wording seems to imply a procession, for which there is specific evidence in the 9th cent. In the Middle Ages the procession usually set out from one church and made its way to another, where the palms were blessed and distributed, and then returned to the church from which it had started. Frequently a representation of Christ, e.g. the Gospel book or a crucifix or a carved figure seated on a wooden ass, was carried in the procession. The use of the Blessed Sacrament for the purpose was ordered by Abp. *Lanfranc for the cathedral at *Canterbury c. 1078, and thence spread to Rouen and several places in England.A very elaborate rite for the blessing of the palms developed during the Middle Ages, similar in structure to the Mass. In the C of E the ceremony was abolished by an Order in Council in Jan. 1549, and only in recent times has a special rite for Palm Sunday been officially sanctioned within the Anglican Communion. In the RC Church the rite was radically simplified by the decree ‘Maxima Redemptionis Nostrae Mysteria’ of 16 Nov. 1955, and there have been a number of minor changes since. Acc. to the current rite there is a general blessing of the palms (or other greenery) held by the people, if possible in a different building from that in which the Mass is to be celebrated. After the reading of the account of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem in one or other of the Gospels, and a short homily, the clergy and people process into the church, singing Psalms or the traditional ‘Gloria, Laus’ (‘All Glory, Laud and Honour’ by *Theodulf of Orléans) or some other chant. If it is not possible to process outside, there is at least a procession in the church before the main Mass of the day. The Mass which follows begins with the collect (with no *Introit, etc.) and includes the chanting of the Passion from one of the Gospels. The colour for the Mass and the procession is red. The modern Anglican rites follow a similar pattern. In the Byzantine rite the palms or olive branches are blessed and distributed at Mattins after the reading of the Gospel account of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. A procession is not usual.

PALMS Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) was among the earliest cultivated trees. Five thousand-year-old inscriptions from Mesopotamia give instruction for their cultivation. Palms are characteristic of oases and watered places (Exod. 15:27; Num. 33:9). The fruit of the date palm is highly valued by desert travelers since it may be consumed fresh or else dried or made into cakes for a portable and easily storable food. Jericho was known as the city of palms (Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13). The judge Deborah rendered her decisions under a palm bearing her name (Judg. 4:5). The palm was a symbol of both beauty (Song 7:7) and prosperity (Ps. 92:12). Thus, images of palms were used in the decoration of the temple (1 Kings 6:29, 35; 7:36) and were part of Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple (Ezek. 40:16, 22, 26). Palms were used in the construction of the booths for the festival of booths (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15). In John 12:13 the crowd used palm branches to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem.

Chad Brand et al., eds., “Palms,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1242.

Our savior is here - Actually lets be correct in the time frame. The King is here! But what is it about our perceptions or theres of a “King” vs reality *images of king*

The Time has come - For Jesus to make a triumphant entry in our hearts. we need to lay things down at his feet. Things that we are holding on to and don’t want Jesus to control because they might go away. Lay down our burdens

Fast forward

From Palms to Nails - any Hypocrites out there today?

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