Palm Sunday: Hail to Our King!

by the Rev. Francis T. Gignac, S.J.

n this day the Church celebrates the entry of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem to accomplish our salvation. A memorial of this entry is included in every Mass, with a solemn procession before the principal Mass. This procession is not meant to be a historical reenactment; it is a liturgical action designed to open the celebration of the Christian Passover.

After the blessing of palms, an account of the Lord's entrance is proclaimed from one of the three synoptic gospels according to the cycle; this year it is from either Mark (11:1-10) or John (12-12-16).

The Johannine story differs from the synoptic versions by being shorter and following the anointing at Bethany, not preceding it. And it is the crowd, not the disciples, who are responsible for the triumphant procession. Of course, it is not followed by the cleansing of the temple episode because the author of this gospel moved that up to the beginning of Jesus' ministry in order to portray him as fulfilling the role of Elijah the fiery reformer.

Along with Matthew's gospel, John's uses an Old Testament quotation from Zecariah 9:9 referring to a king coming to Jerusalem riding upon an ass, a symbol of peace (as opposed to horses used in war), although he does not have the synoptics' preliminary story of Jesus sending two of his disciples to find it.

While Mark's mentions leafy branches people had cut from the fields, and Matthew's their cutting branches from the trees (both of which may be related to the twig bundles used at the festival of Tabernacles), John's version introduces palm branches (not native to Palestine), used to welcome great conquerors.

All four gospels have the crowds shout "Hosanna" (which means "God save us!" or, in Matthew, "God save the son of David") and then quote Psalm 118:26, the verse that pilgrims sang on their final ascent to the Temple: "Blessed is he [the pilgrim] who comes in the name of the LORD (Yahweh)." Here John's version, with Luke's, explicitly applies this to Jesus as king of Israel.

The author of John's gospel concludes his story with the reflection that his disciples did not understand all this at first, but when Jesus had been glorified through his death and resurrection they realized the significance of these events.

We now begin the most solemn week of the liturgical year, the Christian Passover. This eight-day religious ceremony commemorates the mystery of our salvation. We believe that it is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are saved. With readings from the passion accounts and the celebration of the Easter vigil, the liturgy of Holy Week urges us to appropriate to ourselves Christ's victory over sin and death and to allow it to exercise its effect upon us more and more.

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Revised: 27 October 1997

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