Passion Sunday / Palm Sunday, Cycle A
As we become increasingly aware of the oppressive political and economic situation in which the Jesus of history and the other Jews of his time and place lived, we recognize that when Jesus called upon his fellow Jews to believe that soon the Lord God would be coming to them in some wonderful way, and that when the Lord God would come to rule over them (in the kingdom of God) the oppressive Romans would be gone, he became not only a religious leader but also a prominent political leader of his people and a significant political threat to the Roman occupational forces and to the small number among his fellow Jews who were cooperating fully with the Romans. We realize, therefore, that his final entry into Jerusalem, before he was seized, tortured, and crucified by the Romans as a political threat to their security in that land, was a religious and a political pilgrimage, a procession of hope. It was a procession of hope for the oppressed, a bold and joyous demonstration for the Lord. When we understand this, we perceive that our own observance of the culmination of our Lenten season cannot be complete unless we also in some way participate in a joyous celebration of hope on the Sunday prior to Good Friday each year. For us also, it is a hope for liberation from oppression, a hope that for us also will include experiences of despair before we and others who are oppressed in any way are truly set free. Let us see how the texts appointed for us for this occasion will help us to experience the various emotions of this joyous celebration.
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
This beautiful Hallel Psalm was one of several used in ancient Israel during entrance to the temple processions associated with one or more of the great cultic festivals. During the time of the Jesus of history, it was very likely sung by Galileans as they approached the city of Jerusalem and the temple on festival occasions. Many Jews today continue to read all or portions of Psalms 113-114 prior to the Seder meal and of Psalms 115-118 after the meal.
These Psalms, and most of all Psalm 118, are appropriate also for Christian use, especially on Palm Sunday. Attention should be given to the parts of the psalm portions spoken or sung by various individuals and groups. Verses 1, 2, and 19 should be spoken or sung by someone “outside the gates” (perhaps in the narthex), verse 20 by a choir, some other group, or the entire worshiping congregation, verses 21 and 22 by the person who has read or sung verses 1, 2, and 19 as this person now enters the sanctuary, verses 23-27 by a choir or the entire congregation as the person who has entered from the narthex approaches the altar area, verse 28 by that person at the altar, and verse 29 by everyone present.
“The stone that the builders rejected” in verse 22 is widely used in our Newer Testament in reference to Jesus. Within the context of Psalm 118, however, it is an expression of the grace of God with many possible applications over the course of time.
Matthew 21:1-11
Comparison of the texts within the Four Gospels that depict an entry into Jerusalem by Jesus just prior to his suffering and death indicates the freedom and the inspired creativity with which this story was developed within the various traditions. The Matthean account exhibits typical Matthean tendencies. Along with many other accounts in Matthew, this Matthew 21:1-11 text shows that the writers within the Matthean tradition were most interested in demonstrating ways in which the life of Jesus fulfilled expectations expressed within the Israelite Scriptures and recapitulated the experiences of the earlier Israelites. It also shows that some of the Matthean writers may not have been of Jewish background, or at least may not have been familiar with the Hebrew language. That they alone among the writers of the Four Gospel traditions portrayed Jesus as sitting and riding on two beasts of burden, rather than on one, suggests that some of these writers may have lacked even a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew poetry with its heavy use of parallelism. They seem to have followed the poetic parallelism of Zechariah 9:9 literally, and as a result they presented Jesus as riding two animals simultaneously as he entered the city.
In order to reactualize the Palm Sunday event as much as possible, it would be appropriate, if the congregation is not dramatizing the Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 account as suggested above, to read Matthew 21:1-11 during a clergy and choir (and perhaps entire congregational) procession on Palm Sunday this year. The reading should be interrupted after 21:9 so that everyone may sing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty,” or a similar hymn that will amplify our reading and proclamation. If we wish to do more than this, we can borrow or rent a donkey somewhere and dramatize the processional further with someone each year having the honor of representing Jesus on the donkey along the paths and through the fields or streets to the sanctuary. (The donkey should not be brought into the church building, for rather obvious reasons, not the least of which is that the biblical accounts do not have Jesus ride into the temple but have him chasing animals out of the temple court.) Regardless of how we stage the processional, it should provide a memorable event, especially for the children of the congregation and community.
