REFLECTION - PALM BRANCHES AND EARTHQUAKES

By Rev Dr Clive W Ayre

By the time we come to Palm/Passion Sunday, we are deep into Lent, and the pace begins to quicken considerably. Palm Sunday always has a more ready appeal than Passion Sunday. It is easier to wave palm branches than to think of them being formed into a cross. Yet the two themes are closely related.

As Matthew tells the story (in Matthew 21:1-11), there is evidence of prior planning for the entry into Jerusalem. The people spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road. The shout of welcome is of interest. ‘Hosanna’ was originally a prayer, and it meant ‘save now’. But with the passing of time, it became merely a greeting. What they did, though, was to link it with the coming king, the messiah. Matthew portrays a royal procession reminiscent of Solomon; but in real terms, they don’t get it. Eugene Boring says that “When the crowds cry ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ and ‘This is the prophet’, they use the right words, but they still miss the point. They have all of the notes and none of the music.”

We can see that even more clearly when we turn to the third segment of this passage.  ‘When he entered Jerusalem’, Matthew says, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this’? It is not immediately obviously to the reader of English, but the word Matthew uses is the word for earthquake! The other times we encounter earthquakes in the gospel is with the crucifixion and the resurrection. In other words, this is a tell-tale sign of the future breaking into the present. In spiritual terms, something of the utmost significance is happening here. They didn’t quite ‘get it’; but they were shaken by the spiritual earthquake of God.

Here too is a sure sign that we cannot see the events of Palm Sunday as in any sense divorced from Passion Sunday. Jesus’ entry to the Holy City is for the sole purpose of going to die on a cross. His ‘hour’ was fast approaching. ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, the people cry.  And then in the next breath they ask, ‘Who is this?’ Jesus can have that effect on people!  ‘Who is this?’ we ourselves sometimes ask.  With Matthew, we struggle with the tension between what seems like random unpredictability and orderliness; and we never quite know when the earthquake of God’s reality may strike!

We underestimate Jesus when we don’t realize fully who he is. We know the right words, but the music isn’t there. And just like that crowd of long ago, we find that even with the correct theology, it is still possible to ‘end up rejecting Jesus and calling for his death.’ On this Palm-Passion Sunday, we know what his entry to Jerusalem means.  We know what it cost.  We are ready with our palm branches; but are we ready to be shaken, stirred by this one who comes?  Are we ready for the spiritual earthquake, of God breaking into our present?  Truly we may say: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!’