Palm Sunday brings back memories, pleasant ones, of days gone by. I think of the cheerful faces on children as they come up the aisle towards the altar, waving palms overhead, as we all sing "Hosanna!" Some years, the children included were my own, other years they were just children of the church, a few years, grandchildren. But it never wavered... the faces were the same.
Looking at the picture I shared, I am struck by the thought that the faces have
always been the same, all the way back to that original Palm Sunday. As Jesus entered the city, the crowds shouted, "Hosanna!" as they celebrated the arrival of the Messiah. Palm branches were waved about and placed on the ground, creating a path into the city. The children still laughed and smiled as they waved palms, just as they do today, centuries later.
While it is celebratory, it is not a casual result of chance. Much preparation occurred before hand, including the ministry of Jesus, when the Disciples arrived, and much earlier, with sharing prophecies in the temples.
And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”
