neuroBIBLISTICS

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Reverend Fathers, dear brothers and sisters, after the resurrection of his friend Lazarus which we celebrated yesterday, Jesus enters Jerusalem in glory. Many people whom we gathered for Jewish Passover heard of this miraculous resurrection and came out to greet Jesus in front of the gates of Jerusalem. Celebrating this event of victory over death, Church calls this marvelous entrance in Jerusalem – the Palm Sunday.

Holy apostle and evangelist John writes: “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John)”. This event of greeting the Lord in front of Jerusalem is essential for our understanding of the events to unfold in the coming week. In a nutshell, this greeting is a confession of the Old Testament faith and anticipation.

Branches of palm trees represent victory. In this case the victory of life over death. The liberators of the cities were greeted in this manner. Palms were also minted on the coins representing the victories over the Roman empire.

They cried: Hosanna! This word is coined from two words: hosan and na. Hosan means “Give Salvation!” or Save, and NA means now, right now, or please. The crowd cried out: SAVE US RIGHT NOW, PLEASE! The anticipation of the Savior lasted for centuries. This cry is recorded in Psalm 118:25. And now crowds finally meet the one who can Save at once, the one who saves from the death. Also, from the same word derives the name of our Lord – Jesus / the Savior.

The words “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” refer to the Messiah. Messiah means Anointed one, one who is prepared for the Service, one who is representing someone, who brings the presence of someone important. Messiah in Greek reads Christ. Christ is anointed for the service of the Salvation. He brings the presence and the will of his Father.

Crowds also cried: “The king of Israel”. Here they identify Christ Jesus, the Savior as their king. This title “the king of Israel”, will be also written on the Cross, in a few days when the same crowd condemn our Lord to die on the Cross. He will be condemned when they fail to understand that he is the King of eternity. 

While entering the city to fulfill the will of his Father, Christ fulfilled a prophecy of Zechariah. Zechariah comforted the people that the king will come riding on the donkey. The riding of the donkey represents the humble manner of Christ’s first coming in the world, while the second coming will be in the glory. 

Today’s epistle reading calls us to rejoice: Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. ^… The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. This reading encourages us to rejoice.  And give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is near. Also, his peace will be granted to us, the peace which surpasses all understanding. St. Sava and St. Mardarije were joyful in their prayers and always thankful, so let us follow their example and let our palm branches be the branches of prayer and thanksgiving to Our Savior Jesus and Our Anointed King – Christ.

Let us cry out Hosanna – “Save us now O Savior”!

Let us be joyful for the King of Eternity is coming, bringing the will of his Father, in the Holy Spirit.

Let us not be anxious about anything, but rather give thanks to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!