Palm Sunday Worship – It’s in the Movement!

Posted

Steve O’Connor, Director of Music Ministries

One of the most important documents that describes the early Church’s liturgical activity is the travel diary of the late 4th century woman, Egeria who spent a good deal of time in Jerusalem, documenting Christian worship.  Her account of Palm Sunday is fascinating;

“And as the eleventh hour approaches, the passage from the Gospel is read, where the children, carrying branches and palms, met the Lord, saying; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord… all go on foot from the top of the Mount of Olives, saying to one another: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.  And all the children in the neighborhood, even those who are too young to walk, are carried by their parents on their shoulders, all of them bearing branches, some of palms and some of olives, and thus the bishop is escorted in the same manner as the Lord was of old.”

Here we see liturgical re-enactment.  From these roots we have our modern Palm/Passion Sunday Liturgy, which combines the blessing and procession of the Palms – an emphasis on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the reading of the Passion Narrative.

It’s in the movement, the procession from outside to the inside of the church that we participate with Christ as he entered into the city.

This is why the Church still makes a big deal about gathering everyone outside the church at the start of the Palm Sunday service.  We’re not sitting comfortable in church.  We’re surrounded by noise, confusion and a little chaos.  Things are very different and frankly, it’s a little annoying.  That’s what makes our worship significant!  It’s in our participation with the Savior and the crowds of noisy, confused people as they traveled from the Mount of Olives into the city of Jerusalem, that our worship transforms us.

What happens after the Procession of the Palms, and we have moved inside the church?  Almost immediately we are confronted by the Passion Narrative – the Gospel account of Christ’s suffering and death.  One minute we’re having a party – a parade, the next minute – we’re immersed into Christ’s agony on the cross.  The Palm Sunday liturgy, then, is more than just a simple commemoration of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.   It’s also NOT simply a triumphal march.  The heart of the liturgy is our participation in Christ’s journey, together with his people, the People of God, to Calvary and to God’s great central act of redemption, the Resurrection.

Join us on our journey this Palm Sunday as we participate with Christ.