The Triumphal Procession
PALM SUNDAY
All glory, laud, and honor
To thee, Redeemer, King
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring
Thou art the King of Israel
Thou David's royal Son
Who in the Lord's name comest
The King and Blessed One
The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went
Our praise and love and anthems
Before Thee we present
To Thee, before Thy passion
They sang their hymns of praise
To Thee, now high exalted
Our melody we raise...
These glorious words resounded to heaven as we processed through the square with palms in hand and rang forth in our triumphal march here, into the house of the Lord! Each year on Palm Sunday, we reenact our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, following Him up to the mountain and towards the Temple, joining him on his glorious ascent. Today our voices join Christians throughout the world singing: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
But what does it mean for us to join into the procession of our Lord Jesus Christ? To understand this, we must understand what Jesus was doing, why he had set his face towards Jerusalem, and what he desired to accomplish. As is often the case, today's readings provide the hermeneutical key to uncover and explain what Palm Sunday- Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem- is all about.
Let us begin with the epistle taken from the second chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians. It is possibly one of the better-known Pauline texts, which speaks of the kenosis, or the emptying and abasement of God's eternal Son, who became as we are by the incarnation. Describing the condescension of our Lord, St. Paul writes, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men…" (2:5-9).
Paul says Jesus "made himself of no reputation," or emptied himself. Here the Apostle roots the mystery of the Gospel in the history of Christ's humiliation: or the mind of Christ. And what was the 'mind of Christ'? Humility: neither grasping too tightly or holding on to his pre-existent Divinity, but rather, took upon his person the form of man, with all of its weaknesses, frailties, and vulnerabilities. The Second person of the Trinity did not insist upon His eternal privileges but humbled Himself to the human condition and its sufferings. He gladly released (emptied) his heavenly status embracing humility, lowliness, shame, and willfully endured pain and death on a Roman cross.
Now, it is not by accident that the humility of which St. Paul speaks is most vividly and viscerally illustrated in today's appointed Gospel, the Narrative of our Lord's Passion writing, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." You see, the Mind of Christ must also possess the body of Christ. The humility which the Eternal Mind willingly embraced was fully evidenced and demonstrated in his body: by his very words and actions.
Reflect on His Passion... He was falsely accused and brought before Pontius Pilate, and yet "answered Him to never a word." He maintained a dignified silence except when truth demanded words. False witnesses brought accusations against Him, but it was as if He heard them not. Our Lord was patient when a robber and a murderer was preferred by the people to Himself, and when falsely condemned for blasphemy and treason, charged with offenses against the powers of heaven and the powers of earth, he remained silent in humility: for indignation is human, silence is divine. He never once uttered a word of defense or begged the religious leaders for mercy as the people called for his crucifixion. Not a finger did he lift in retaliation against those who whipped, scourged, and beat his body.
"And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him." Humility in pain, patience in suffering. He refused the cup of partial relief: under the abuse of the thieves, the cruel indifference of the passers-by, the bitter taunts of the priests, even the felt desertion of God His Father. Friends He suffered in every possible way: emotionally, psychologically, and physically… yet meekly, lowly, and humbly unto the point of death.
Jesus Christ had no regard for Himself but looked to the regard of others, and therefore descended into humanity and death. His heart was not so set upon holding onto pre-existent glory, for there was something he desired even more—the redemption of a fallen world by His self-abasement and death. Having "this mind," he descended and appeared not as a God in glory, but clothed in flesh; not in royal robes, but in common dress; not as Deity in fire, but a man in tears; not in a palace, but in a manger. And in doing so has given us an example of self-denying humility and godly love.
He who comes in humility enters into Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world. Lowly and in peace will he gladly ascend to the Cross of suffering and shame. He comes gently, not on a horse of war but meekly on a foal, for he is the prince of peace and the author of salvation; salvation won not by the sword but through self-denying love and humility: these are Messiah's weapons. Friends, by his obedient death, Christ has conquered death and removed its sting. This is the meaning behind his triumphal procession.
What we find is that Palm Sunday is about the grace and mercy of Divine humility, which St. Paul and St. Matthew evidence in retelling and reexamining the willful, historical death of our Lord. But remember, humility is finally justified by exaltation. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father."
Friends, at the Cross, humility was restored and exalted to the highest place of preeminence and glory. For He who was made a little lower than the angels; has been crowned with glory and honor… all things have been put in subjection under his feet. Thus was the humble, self-denying love of the Son rewarded. His exaltation was grounded upon humility, and His mediatorial crown the reward of His Cross. This we see forever enshrined in the name of Jesus. This name (Jesus), His human name, is the token of His Humility and Passion and remains His name forever. The eternal Son of God is now worshipped as the Son of Man. And it is specifically "at the name of Jesus that every knee should bow." For peace and salvation came through Him whom "God hath made both Lord and Christ, even this Jesus whom ye crucified." In Jesus, God's highest glory is not His Divine power but the power of humility and self-denying love.
St. Paul says, "Let this mind be in you…" In other words, we are to be as Christ Jesus, which is the way of humility, the way of dying to self, the way of the Cross. No one is exalted except through the Cross of Christ: humility, obedience, and love. To be in Christ is to be as Christ, and if we are in Him, then we too shall be as he is. In fact, St. Paul says that even now, we are, in some sense, exalted with our Lord,
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus"
And how shall God show the riches of his grace and kindness in the ages to come? To St. John was given a glimpse into the grace and kindness which awaits the humble. In the Revelation, St. John writes, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Beloved: to one day obtain and behold the Lamb of God as victors with palms in our hands; surely this is the grace and kindness of God which we experience now, but more fully in the age to come. So friends, hold fast to this promised victory as you approach Maundy Thursday's betrayal and the horrors of Good Friday. Easter lies just on the other side of death. Amen+
