Sunday, March 24, 2024
The Sunday before Easter commemorating Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week of his crucifixion. According to all four Gospels, Jesus rode into the city on a young donkey while crowds spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road, shouting 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' (Matthew 21:9). The procession deliberately fulfilled Zechariah 9:9: 'See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' Jesus chose this method of arrival — riding rather than walking, but on a humble donkey rather than a warhorse — to enact a kind of kingship that contradicted political expectations. The same crowds who shouted 'Hosanna' on Palm Sunday would shout 'Crucify him!' by Friday, a sobering reminder that public acclaim is no guarantee of true faith. Palm Sunday inaugurates Holy Week, the most intense week of the Christian year, leading through Maundy Thursday (the Last Supper) and Good Friday (the crucifixion) to Easter Sunday (the resurrection).
Palm Sunday observance typically includes: distribution of palm branches (or pussy willow, olive branches, or local equivalents) at the start of the service, a procession recalling Jesus' entry, blessing of the palms, the reading of the entire Passion narrative (which sets the tone for Holy Week), and red vestments. The palms are kept by congregants for the year and traditionally burned to make ashes for the following year's Ash Wednesday — connecting the beginning and end of Lent.
The traditional Bible readings for Palm Sunday include:
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem the Sunday before his crucifixion, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9. The crowds welcomed him as king with palm branches and shouts of 'Hosanna,' but the same week ended with his crucifixion. The day captures the paradox of Jesus' kingship — acclaimed and rejected, glorified and crucified within a single week.
Palm branches were ancient symbols of victory, triumph, and rejoicing (1 Maccabees 13:51 records palms being used to celebrate a military victory). By spreading palms before Jesus, the crowd was hailing him as a conquering king. They expected a political messiah who would overthrow Rome, but Jesus' kingship would be revealed instead through the cross — a different kind of victory entirely.
The Gospel reading is one of the four triumphal entry accounts (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, or John 12:12-19) followed by the complete Passion narrative from that year's assigned Gospel. Other readings include Isaiah 50:4-9 (the suffering servant), Psalm 31 (a psalm of trust amid suffering), and Philippians 2:5-11 (Christ's humility unto death).
Traditionally, palms from Palm Sunday are kept in homes throughout the year as a sign of Christ's presence, then returned to the church before Lent. They are burned to produce the ashes used on Ash Wednesday the following year — creating a powerful liturgical connection between the joy of Palm Sunday and the penitence of Lent. Palms should be burned, buried, or returned to nature — not simply thrown in the trash.