Palm Sunday Reflection

Title: Palm Sunday Reflection
Date: 24 Mar 2024
Preacher: Rev Enoch Keong

I
Today is Palm Sunday, which is unlike any other day in the Lent season. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, where ashes are used to mark a cross on the foreheads of worshippers to symbolize repentance and mortality. The foci of the rest of the 40 days of Lent include fasting, giving and praying. Everything is done in a quiet, and in fact sombre and reflective mood.

Palm Sunday is quite out of character in comparison. Churches on this day cast aside the sombre mood in exchange for one that is celebrative. The readings taken from the various gospels describe a crowd waving palm branches at Jesus and shouting “Hosanna in the highest”. We know very well that what the crowd did was only partly right. Still, in following these gospel stories that are injected with excitements, we can’t help, but are led to feel that celebrative mood generated by the street party.

This happy feeling is, however, short lived. Holy week begins tomorrow, and we return to the sombre mood come Monday morning. Palm Sunday, in other words, put us on a rollercoaster ride. It makes us feel high for one morning, only to return to seriousness the very next day. And that seriousness only intensifies as we move towards Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. So, the happy vibes that Palm Sunday generates is not only somewhat out of place but can come across as a little manic in nature.

What I am sharing is the impression that I tend to get from year to year in attending worship services on Palm Sundays and into Holy Week. Not sure if we share the sentiment?

Each of the 4 gospels contains a passage on Palm Sunday, and each has a different emphasis. This morning, I would like to walk us through Mark’s report on Palm Sunday to find out what the bible, or at least, Mark aims to communicate and inspire.

II.
Mark gives us the story in 3 consecutive scenes. The fetching of the donkey (vv.1-7), the street party (vv.8-10) and Jesus entering and leaving the temple (v.11). The opening scene calls for some explanations.

The paragraph describing the first scene is unusually long considering the way that Mark writes. Mark includes in these verses the detailed instruction given by Jesus on where and how to fetch the donkey. And with almost step-by-step repetition, he then describes how the disciples did as they were told.

The way Mark presents the story is like Lego, giving you this instruction manual that has a second part to it. And the second part is a comic on how a person followed the step-by-step instructions. Lego will never do something like that, and hardly does Mark write in this manner. So, what’s happening here?

To make things worse, Mark does not tell us the point that he is trying to make. We readers are left to guess what he is saying.

Could Mark be affirming that Jesus has foreknowledge? That he could see the donkey in the village ahead, that there will be bystanders questioning the disciples when they untie the beast, but will be happy for them to lead the donkey away after all?

Or perhaps Mark is not saying that Jesus has foreknowledge. Rather, he is telling us that Jesus had made prearrangement to fetch the donkey, and the answer the disciples were to give to the bystander was the code words for the donkey to be released.

Or was it neither of the above. The Old Testament prophesizes that the Messiah will come riding on a donkey. So here Jeus is fulfilling the prophesy in getting himself a colt.

The first option sounds the best, yet we can’t say for sure since Mark only tells the story and left it there. In doing so, Mark left us readers with a mystery. A mystery not to be solved, but for us to enter.

I believe entering a mystery was what the disciples went through back then. They knew that the destination was Jerusalem. As to why the fetching of the donkey turned out to be exactly the way Jesus had told them, they were probably as clueless as we are. Jesus had told them 3 times that he is going to suffer in Jerusalem. So, they know his plan, but not much more than that. As they marched alongside Jesus, and seeing thing they could not comprehend, they were probably asking questions in their minds.

As we journey into Holy Week, perhaps we should be doing the same. We could perhaps ask:

Why did Jesus march on knowing that suffering awaits him? Why did he even have to suffer? How deep was that suffering be? How much does Jesus know about me if he did have foreknowledge of the colt and the bystanders? Was Jesus afraid although he keeps to the plan? Do I have a correct understanding of his plan?

Palm Sunday is about remembering Jesus in a worship service and about feeling excited when we hear and sing the words, “Hosanna in the highest”. But please do not just come to service and then go off when service is over. Having come, let us draw near to Jesus, go to him with our questions, and enter the mystery of God walking into suffering for man. Having come, don’t just go, but go on with the Lord who has come for you and for me.

III.
We now move on to the second scene, which begins with a crowd turning up suddenly to give Jesus the kind of welcome reserved for royalties. It will not be wrong for us to say that the possession was filled with tension, loud and comical.

The atmosphere was filled with tension because Mount of Olive is associated with the coming of the Messiah. A royal procession that starts from the Mount of Olives and heads towards Jerusalem could constitute a claim to messiahship. Israel suffered badly in the hand of the Roman authorities the last time someone tried something like that. And this time the crowd is heard shouting, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

And let’s not forget that processions into the city is the thing of the Roman generals. What Jesus and the crowd were doing looked like a parody. An act of mocking the Roman military. How could such a scene not generate tension and fears in the leaders.

As to the procession being loud, no explanation would be needed. A street party is always a big and noisy party.

The scene is also comical because Jesus, an adult, was riding on a young donkey which was not very tall. Some people imagine Jesus’ leg to be almost touching the ground when carried by the young donkey. If we have problem imagining it, lets’ see if these pictures might help (big men on small bikes)?

Tensed, loud and comical; Jesus let things be. Yet there is something we must not miss in that rowdy street party. While the crowd looked happy and playful, and the religious leaders seemed worried and fearful, Jesus was sitting rather low on a half-grown donkey, not high up, not towering over the people around, not in a commanding position, he was sitting low. And all the time when the crowd was shouting and cheering, Jesus did not make a sound.

Jesus sitting low and moving on in silence, what come through is “the authoritative lowliness of God displayed in Jesus Christ” [1]

We don’t think much about the lowliness of God do we? We prefer to feel excited when singing “Hosana” and to see our God as the mighty one rather than to dwell on his lowliness. But if we are to go on following the Good Lord, the Jesus of Palm Sunday calls us to share his lowliness and that quiet strength to do the will of God.

IV.
Moving to the final scene, we are in for a big surprise. While the other 3 gospel writers report the reactions from the people and the leaders when Jesus entered Jerusalem, in Mark the crowd mysteriously vanish. Mark certainly did not think the procession was a triumphant entry, as we like to call it. According to Mark, when Jesus arrives at the temple, nothing happens.

Mark only needs us to know that Jesus keeps to the plan and arrives at the destination, to face his destiny. As for the crowd, Mark finds no reason to even make mention of them, and we need to ask “Why?”.

I believe the reason is this. Although the crowd gave Jesus the prominence with their cheering, their action did not fit into what Palm Sunday is supposed to be.

The street party was a celebration, and celebration itself is a problem. When God comes as our savior, the thing to do is not to celebrate but to give thanks and place our trust in him. The lectionary reading on Psalms helps to shed light at this point. The back story of the psalm is the king joining a procession. A procession toward the temple, to give thanks to God his deliverer. The difference between this king and the crowd is that he was not celebrating his victory and his return, but to thank God for being God, being his God.

We are people who enjoy celebrations we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, successes and so on. Today, when we give thanks to God, we tend to also do it like going through a celebration. We celebrate what God has given us, like the house we managed to purchase. Or that which God has help us attain, like getting an A or a B grade for a difficult exam. And we move on in life longing for the next thing to celebrate. This way of giving thanks focuses on the gains and accomplishment, and is more like congratulating oneself.

Yes, we should thank God for being our provider and helper, but if our giving thanks is rooted in superficial successes, it will quickly dissolve into despair. Palm Sunday calls us to a life of thanksgiving and trust by grounding ourselves in God’s saving activity that gives us our identity as children of God, and his steadfast love that endures forever [2].

The second reason for the crowd being excluded by Mark is akin to the first one. The rowdy celebration betrays that the crowd was infatuated with Jesus. And not that they loved him. When they saw Jesus, they saw in him the military general they were waiting for. They were filled with excitement. They believe that he is someone who could satisfy their longings. If we have a problem imagining that feeling, try remembering the excitement felt at Kallang stadium a few weeks back, that excitement was in fact felt throughout the whole island.

We have said time and again this morning that on Palm Sunday we feel that quite excitement when we sing, “Hosanna in the highest” But Palm Sunday is after not about being excited about Jesus. To be excited about Jesus is by the way, the weekly focus of many churches.

Palm Sunday is about responding to Jesus with love. We do so through entering the mystery and journeying with him, sharing his lowliness and quite strength, and to live a life of thanksgiving and trust. But that’s not the end of the story, as Christian we are called to love God and our fellow man. Hence, our devotion to Jesus must translate into acts of compassion and kindness towards others.

So what is Palm Sunday to us after all. In short, Palm Sunday wants to show us that we tend to misinterpret God’s love, and our love for him. It is also a day to commit ourselves afresh to loving him and to do his goodwill.

[1]Williamson Jr., Lamar;, Mark (Interpretation: A bible commentary for teaching and preaching), John Knex Press: Louisville,1983. p.205.
[2]Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (p. 368). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

Bilingual Service Video Link:
https://youtu.be/q1DzmURU-gA?si=zK7G5789HrHnaRKs