http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/sermons/brown_palm_sunday.htm
Throughout
the entire history of the known world, men have conquered other men. Rulers
have conquered cities. Emperors have conquered entire nations. At times, Kings
have strived to conquer the entire world. But there remains one uncharted
territory that has eluded men of power all throughout history. This unconquered
territory is the human heart, and its sole conqueror is Christ the king.
Today
we celebrate together one of the great feasts of the Church calendar — the
feast of Palm Sunday. Today we gather together to celebrate Christ’s entry into
the city of Jerusalem. Today we celebrate Christ as the king who enters our own
personal Jerusalem — our hearts. Today’s feast day is a momentary feast of joy
and celebration, because tonight we begin the final leg of our journey towards
Pascha. Our mood changes from one of joy this morning to one of solemnity,
almost of sorrow this evening as we lead up to the great sacrifice that Christ
performed for us on the cross.
The
feast of Palm Sunday has been celebrated in our Church since the earliest days
of Christianity, but the use of Palms in connection with religious celebrations
goes all the way back to Old Testament times. Oddly enough Palm trees did not
grow around the city of Jerusalem, and people would often buy imported Palms
for religious celebrations, in particular The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated
at the temple in Jerusalem. The Palm branch was used as a visual tool
proclaiming the sovereignty of God as the true king of the Israelites.
With
the expectation of the Messiah, and the events of Christ’s ministry on earth,
word travelled quickly around Judea that Jesus was the one whom the prophets
had spoken about and whom everyone was expecting. Yesterday Christ performed a
miracle by raising Lazarus from the dead, the miracle that foreshadowed his
glorious resurrection next Sunday. Now everyone is convinced that this is the
Messiah-king who will save the Israelites. And Christ fulfils the prophecy of
Zachariah, entering Jerusalem on a donkey. All of Israel is preparing to go to
Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and Christ enters also as the salvific
king who will save Israel not from the tyranny of the Roman Empire, but from
the curse of death through His own death and resurrection.
For
Orthodox Christians around the world, we celebrate these events as they
happened not only in the past, but as they also happen today. We celebrate
Christ as the king who enters our hearts, our own personal Jerusalem. But is
Christ able to enter? Is there room in our hearts for Christ to rule as king?
Often the doors of our hearts are locked. Often Christ is unable to enter
because there is already another king of the heart — ourselves. And how do we
solve this problem of trying to let Christ in? How do we instill within
ourselves the one thing that is missing- God?
The
answer is to surrender. Surrender to the will of God. Surrender your life to
the one who gave you life. We are constantly bound and held captive by the
temporal things of this life. We are prisoners of our own selves, of this
world, of our careers, of money, of the politicians who rule over us, we are
even slaves to our own passions. The only way to find peace, to find true
happiness, to experience true love is to surrender yourself to God, to make Him
your king, to live in total communion with Him. And the way in which we turn
our hearts from the kingdom of the self into the kingdom of God is through
constant daily prayer, reflection, and meditation, frequent Holy Communion,
frequent Confession, reading and understanding the Scriptures. So many people
complain that they can’t find time to come to Church, they can’t find time to
pray and read the Scriptures, they can’t find time to fast, or go to Confession
and Holy Communion. The reason they don’t have time is that they are slaves to
their own selves, to their own will. If we don’t have time for God, then why on
earth should God have any time for us? But God always has time for us. He is
constantly knocking at the door to our hearts, to our lives and asking to come
in. Some of the Church Fathers go so far as to liken God to a crazed lover who
constantly seeks to be with the one that He loves — us, and who would do
absolutely anything to be with the people that He loves.
Today,
as we receive our Palm branches at the end of the Divine Liturgy, let us take
them to our homes and place them somewhere where we can always see them. Let
the Palms remind us that Christ is the king of our families, that Christ is the
king of our hearts, that Christ is the only true answer to happiness and
meaning in our lives. And if we do proclaim Christ as our king, let us try and
make time for Him in our daily life, let us be reminded that He is the one with
whom we will be spending eternity. Let us be reminded that our careers, our
education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our
lives are only temporary. Let us prioritise and place Christ the king as the
primary concern in our lives. It is only when we have done this that we will
find true peace and happiness in such a confused and complex world. Amen.
From Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, Brisbane QLD
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