Sunday, April 17, 2011

Domenica in Palmis


It's Palm Sunday, not only here but around the world, this year the Orthodox are celebrating on the same day as the Western Church. Here at the epicenter of the Rudisillian Empire, Redeemer Lutheran Church, we received our palms in the narthex, listened to the readings, and then, following a phalanx of acolytes, crucifirs, and officiants processed into the sanctuary. We were remembering our Lord's entry into Jerusalem the Sunday of Passover Week. He came gently, riding the colt of a donkey, a symbol of peace, yet the crowds were hoping for a great hero to deliver them from the yoke of Imperial Rome. Their cries were "Hosanna", "save me", not from sin, but oppression. All too often, I am at that very same place. I want a hero to save me, to make everything in my life wonderful, to somehow cause me to sin no more. What I get instead through no effort on my part is His promise that I am redeemed, that my sins are forgiven, that I will join Him in eternal life in Heaven. In spite of myself, He has saved me.

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