Dear Friends,

Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosannato the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Dear Faithful:
On that first Palm Sunday that took place so many years and centuries ago there was a lot of excitement. The crowds that had gathered together, going to Jerusalem for the Great Feast, were filled with energy and enthusiasm. And as they were going to the Holy City, they focused their attention on Jesus. What a wonderful feeling it must have been to be one of the crowd, laying down palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” and welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem as the victorious King. The people in the crowd were filled with high energy and a sense of power.

Yet, the crowds that on Sunday were running before and following after Jesus, honoring him with Palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna,” were the same crowds that shouted “Crucify him” to Pilate on Friday. It didn’t take long for the crowds mentality to change.

We would like to think that if we lived in those times and saw what the people then saw we would know better and we would have acted better. Because for us Christians, praising God never goes out of style. After 20 centuries Christ is still our Victorious King. And each year on Palm Sunday we remember how he entered the Holy City in triumph. We still feel the excitement and the enthusiasm, because we know the whole story.

We know that Christ was not the Prophet but the one to whom the prophets pointed, the expected Messiah. We know that Jesus suffered, was crucified and died and rose from the dead and that he promises us resurrection and new life.

And we know that if take the time and care to notice, we can see evidence of Our Lord acting in our lives daily. And that is why every year on Palm Sunday, we can rejoice and boldly proclaim:

“Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

With blessings,
Rev. Fr. Sahak M. Kaishian
Interim Pastor
April 5, 2009