Readings for the Day:
The Liturgy of the Palms
The Liturgy of the Word
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
This is an interactive manuscript. To follow links, click the highlighted words below.
You may or may not have noticed that in the Season of Lent the Sundays aren’t called “Sundays of Lent” but “Sundays in Lent”. This is because Sunday is always considered a feast, never a fast in the church. In fact, the Sundays in Lent are added on to the Season, that is they are not part of the 40 days, 40 days, by the way, which we are still in, even with Holy Week.
Every Sunday is a celebration, specifically of the Resurrection of our Lord. That makes this Sunday unique in the church calendar.
I’m not just talking about how we go from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to Jesus’ death on the Cross in the Passion. I’m talking about the Passion itself. Though the Crucifixion is crucial to the story of our Faith and a necessary part of the Resurrection, though we talk about it in our readings and even see Jesus refer to it, we never, on a Sunday, see the Passion in its full impact and horror, minus references in various years for the Last Sunday after Pentecost to the title of “King of the Jews” at the Cross.
It is important that we do see the Passion in its full scope though. Living into the Passion reminds us of what Jesus suffered for our sakes. It allows us to more fully live into the joy of what is to come when we gather next week. We cannot fully live into the story of our Faith without experiencing this Sunday of the Passion first. We cannot fully understand the triumph of Jesus’ Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem without comprehending the suffering he endured.
Now our church calendar is designed so that we can experience everything on our Sundays. If you miss Ash Wednesday, the 1st Sunday in Lent will still make you feel that Lent has truly started. If you miss the 40th Day after Easter on the Thursday of Ascension Day, the Sunday following will still get you up to speed on our Lord’s Heavenly Ascension. And if you miss Good Friday before Easter, you still get to experience the Passion on this Sunday.
Yet don’t let it stop there. Take our experience of the highs and lows of our Faith this Sunday to live deeper into our Faith. You cannot fully live into the Passion and Resurrection without witnessing our great Triduum of services: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter. These services were once one great service spanning 3 days. They let us live into the Passion and Resurrection with Jesus and the Disciples in a deeper and more realistic way.
This part of the year is when all the Abrahamic faiths hold some of our most holy remembrances. This involves time, sometimes taken away from our work even. Others in their own beliefs are recognized for this. Why can’t it be the same for us? Why can’t you take time for Good Friday too? Live into the times we remember Jesus’ Death and Resurrection this week. Live more fully into what we recall today. In this way, build up your Faith.