Palm Sunday
March 29, 2015 The Secret Reason for the Palms John 12:12-16
Second Presbyterian Church, Baltimore
Rev. Dr. Tom Blair
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem.
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they
remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
Palm Sunday is a day of pomp and circumstance, the circumstances around which the pomp
holds a deep and lasting significance. Today is a day of small pageantry and passing happiness. It
is the calm before the storm, the tall white clouds before a summer shower, the deep, soaking
rain before the flood.
Palm Sunday has just the right proportions for it all to make sense… given the proper vantage
point. In the events recorded for us in the Gospels there is the understated pageantry of the
simple parade, the raw excitement of the crowds, the brewing drama of governmental and
religious leaders, all tensed up and waiting to see what will happen next.
Without the modest pageantry of Palm Sunday we don’t get a chance to recognize the
significance of what today is really all about; how we ourselves are honored to celebrate the
arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
We sing our Hosannas because we know that something important took place. We wave our
palms in the air out of some distant sense of tradition; going through the motions, best we can,
out of respect for the day.
But what is this really all about? Really. What do the songs and symbols really mean for our
lives?
How does what happened then relate to how we are to live now? A quick review of the
historical dynamics of the fate-filled day is always good to do on Palm Sunday. Context is
always important. We relate to this better than we know.
Let’s start with the Romans. Every time a Roman general had a victorious campaign, he would
march on his horse in a triumphant procession into Rome. On Palm Sunday, Jesus marched into
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Jerusalem on a colt, a donkey. This was a spoof, a parody. Jesus sat on a donkey, not a horse: the
animal was an agricultural aid, not a tool of war; a farm tractor, not a tank.
The Roman governor couldn’t have missed the joke aimed at him. Jesus marched to receive
what was rightfully his, yet he didn’t go with armies of soldiers, but with people coming in from
the fields; country people, exactly the people who suffered the most under the occupying Roman
government.
Jesus’ triumphal entry wasn’t headed toward the Roman palace but the Temple. It’s very clear
where Jesus thought real power resided in Israel. He was later asked a question about paying
taxes to Caesar, forcing his hand to make a clear choice between the religious authorities, who
went along with Roman domination, and the zealots, who regarded taxes as blasphemy. Jesus’
deeply ironic response – ‘give God what is God’s’ – points to the fact that everything the
Romans thought they controlled in fact remained in God’s power. Later again, when Pilate
asked, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’, Jesus did not deny it. It’s not surprising Pilate had Jesus
executed. These three episodes show that Jesus claimed an authority way beyond that which
Pilate had, and that deep down, he never took Pilate terribly seriously. By riding into Jerusalem,
Jesus announced that he was the real leader of Israel.
In his questioning the status of the Temple, Jesus said he was the true intermediary between
God and God’s people. By debating with each rival group in the Temple precincts as this week
goes on, Jesus said he had more wisdom than the scribes, more holiness than the Pharisees, more
authority than the Sadducees and more power than the Herodians.
One could mistakenly come to the conclusion that the story of Jesus’ last week was all about
the government, or the religious leaders or the zealots. They are the ones who seem to be setting
the agenda. But the Holy Week story proves out that Jesus doesn’t concentrate on the Romans,
the Jerusalem authorities or the zealots, at all.
They are each in different ways the people who put Jesus to death. But they aren’t the people
the story is about. The story is all about another two groups; those who followed on that dusty
path into the venerable city. The other two groups are the disciples and the crowd.
So on this Palm Sunday, as we begin the transition from Jesus’ pastoral ministry and teachings
to the events of this, his last week, the answer to the question of the meaning of Jesus’ life for us
can begin to be answered with our Palms. We have a teaching tool right in our hands. They speak
of more than we know. We hold in our hands what the disciples and the crowd did.
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Many say that palm branches were used to line Jesus’ path simply because there were so many
palm trees in that part of the world, but there are other important reasons. The palm branch was
the emblem of Judea and appeared on the coins of the land, symbolizing the country’s riches.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the trees were in bloom, so in covering the way with palm
branches, the people offered him a luxurious state symbol.
Palms were a symbol of necessity, too. To Jewish villagers, palm branches were a gift from
God because of their many uses. There were different varieties of Palms, ranging in height from
less than 6 feet to over 100 feet. Date Palms supplied dates, of course. Coconut Palms supplied
both coconuts and coconut milk. The sap of Sugar Palms was dried, beaten, and ground into very
fine sugar. Its leaves were boiled and used as a vegetable. The trunk of the Sago Palm was
ground into flour and made into unleavened bread. Palm trees had almost no waste parts. Their
coarse fiber was used to make brooms, mats, and baskets; the fine fiber was used to make sewing
thread; and the heaviest fiber was used to make strong ropes. Palm oils were made into both
butter and soap. Bowls and cooking utensils were made from coconut shells.
The seeds of palms were boiled into medicinal drinks or could be dried and eaten like nuts. If
they were allowed to dry a long time, they became hard and transparent and made durable beads
or buttons. The palm’s flowers were made into perfume or worn in the hair. The Palm was the
original Giving Tree, after the children’s story by Shel Silverstein. It gave all of itself, up to the
very end.
Strewing palm branches at Jesus’ feet was a symbol of giving up of worldly goods, both of
luxuries and necessities. It was not so much a secret, really- but to us its extensive meaning has
been lost to history. People loved and honored Jesus, and they showed it by lining His path with
something very important and valuable.
So why did I go into all of that? What is so important about the meaning of Palms? Well, we
are the people who line that dusty pathway today; we are the ones holding the Palms… We are
the ones ready to offer our homage to Jesus today. And we do it with more than Palms…
We thank Louise for taking care of the Palms that we do have- two different kinds today, may I
add!
Though there have been different ways to celebrate the coming of the Lord on Palm Sunday
through the ages, (I’ve read that in the Middle Ages, people would make ‘Jack-o’-Lents’- puppet
figures made of Palms- that would be lit on fire to drive away Old Man winter- which isn’t such
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a bad idea for us this year…) we have a new and more meaningful tradition to do on Palm
Sunday—The One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Sponsored by our Mission Council. This
offering asks us to share something more valuable to us than Palm leaves. You can keep the
leaves. I invite you today to share some other green stuff; that is, your money.
There is a wonderful insert in your bulletin this morning with introductory information about
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, where our One Great Hour offering money goes, and the
website address, www.presbyterianmission.org, where you can find out more details of how your
money is being used to make a real difference in the world for people who have been displaced
by war, famine or natural disasters. The numbers are, frankly, staggering. Started in 1949, One
Great Hour of Sharing is a long-standing ecumenical effort aimed at raising the funds necessary
to provide relief and reconstruction for communities in the aftermath of disaster. What started as
an hour-long radio appeal has evolved over the years, involving 29 participating communions,
and has grown to be the most participated-in Offering in the PC(USA). Projects supported are
underway in more than 100 countries, including, but not limited to: the Ebola epidemic- in
medical relief and counseling; refugees in Syria, in collaboration with ecumenical partners for
food and shelter, and from Typhoon Haiyan, with emergency blankets, water and sanitation
repair; in Yunan Province, China, following a majar earthquake that took place last summer.
Closer to home, counselors have logged long hours in Ferguson, Missouri, and about 4,000
Presbyterian volunteers have given their time and energy serving communities rehabbing homes
in NY & NJ, following Superstorm Sandy.
The needs are enormous, the work is incredibly important and satisfying and your help is
essential. We have been given the proper vantage point to see what needs lie before us and how
we have been asked to respond. This is how we are asked to honor Jesus today, to celebrate the
arrival of our Lord among the least, last and lost.
I conclude with a word from a pastoral letter from the Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon,
written to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, “We Christians must never forget what our Lord said
to his disciples," In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I overcome the world." We
appeal to all who love peace and justice to cry with us to the God of life and hope for this
tragedy to come to an end. Our friends, please continue to pray with us.
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Today we have an opportunity to make a difference with our giving. Over these next seven
days, we have the opportunity, once again, to discover how the true power in the universe, made
present in the fragile form of Jesus Christ – is a power that transforms the whole world, and can
even transform you. Amen.
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