[THREAD] Ever wonder why we wave Palms in church on Palm Sunday? Here’s some historical and theological perspective:
The Palms we wave and the “Hosannas” we shout speak to our real human desire for liberation but also our human propensity to control the means of salvation.
150 yrs prior to Jesus, Judas Maccabeeus led the Jewish people to victory over the Seluecid dynasty. After leading them to victory, the crowds celebrated by waving palm branches.
To commemorate the victory, Judas “The Hammer” stamped an image of palm branches into their coins which symbolized victory for the Jewish people over their oppressors.
150 years later, when the Jewish people are under foreign rule again, they wave their palms in the air (and waved them like they just don’t care) shouting:
Hosanna (save us now!)
They are saying something significant to Jesus. They in effect are saying: rescue us and do it like it’s been done before.
But Jesus rescues us in ways we often don’t understand—through the surprising and apparent powerlessness of the Cross.
On Palm Sunday the crowds wanted deliverance from the power of Rome, but Jesus was about to deliver the entire world from the power of sin & death.
When we wave palms as followers of Jesus, we do so with a different spirit.
We wave our palms with a post-cross/resurrection perspective, trusting in God’s way of salvation in Christ—a salvation that extends to every part of human existence.
In 2020, many pastors denounced racism from the pulpit for the first time.
But they didn’t follow up with any other discipleship strategy. They thought the demon of racism was cast out, but have found many more demons showing up in 2021.
To use a biblical metaphor from Jesus, you can sweep clean your church by momentarily denouncing racism, but if you don’t fill it with the right gospel values, perspectives, and practices, soon enough, some other demons will come—and the last will be worst than the first.
The demonic powers of racism laugh at the 4 week sermon series on reconciliation. They scoff at annual panel discussions. They pound the floor w/glee when they see the black/white pulpit swaps—only to find churches avoiding this matter until the next extreme racist issue surfaces
Ever wonder why we wave Palms in church on Palm Sunday? Here’s some historical and theological perspectives:
The Palms we wave and the “Hosannas” we shout speak to our real human desire for liberation but also our human propensity to control the means of salvation.
150 yrs prior to Jesus, Judas Maccabeeus led the Jewish people to victory over the Seluecid dynasty. After leading them to victory, the crowds celebrated by waving palm branches.
Like many, I was taught the ACTS model of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). While it’s a good framework the model left me exhausted!
This kind of prayer was marked by verbosity and was usually one-sided.
But then I started reading the Desert Fathers.
The way of the desert gave me permission to “be still and know that he is God.”
The more familiar you are with someone the easier it is to be silent in their presence.
Our inability to be silent with God just might reveal how unfamiliar we are with God.
I have found that the way of contemplative prayer has moved me from needing a word from God, to experiencing union with the Word of God.