The Hub, April 10, 2019
Photo by Valentin Salja on Unsplash
Palm Sunday, the start of our Holy Week experience, is upon us. Most of us should recall the story, but do you know the ancient roots hidden behind behind the palms?
For many centuries, the palm had served as a symbol of victory in the Near East and Greco-Roman world. This especially became so for the Jewish people as they remembered their liberation from Egypt by God’s power.
Recalling the Exodus at Passover and during Sukkot (the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles each fall), palms helped the people of Israel remember their wondering ancestors who often had to build hasty tents as their dwelling place and eat quick meals. Even the Ark of the Covenant, holding the tablets given to Moses and serving as the “mercy seat” of the Lord, was housed in such a tent (also called a booth or tabernacle).
For the people of Israel, the palm became a symbol of freedom and nationalism. They were a people set apart by God, and in Jesus’ day, they fully anticipated their eventual liberation from the occupying army of the Roman Empire. Could Jesus be the one to accomplish it?
As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, he was celebrated as a prophet known for authentic teaching and miraculous works. He came into Jerusalem on a donkey much as Solomon did to be coronated. It was also as Zechariah foretold, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And so, Jesus was met with waving palms and shouts of hosanna, a term of adulation and praise, but it also at its root means, “Save us!” This is as in Psalm 118, “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord.” Jesus would prove a savior, but what kind?
This Holy Week, I invite us all to contemplate and encounter once again his sacred story. Join us as we consider what Jesus’ entry into our lives truly means.
Originally published in The Hub, a weekly email of Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, VA.
© 2019 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author.
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