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Dear
beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As
you already know, today is the commemoration of Palm Sunday for all Orthodox
Christians throughout the world. If we were careful we would all have
noticed that each Sunday leading to the great feast of the Resurrection
of our Lord prepared us in some way for partaking of the communion cup
which is offered to all Orthodox Christians. Today we are taught many
other lessons which are important for our bodily and spiritual progress.
Two major themes occur in the Gospel reading of today. Firstly,
that of the anointing of Jesus feet by the sister of Lazarus and secondly
the entry of Jesus as king into the great city of Jerusalem.
The Gospel reading for today informed us that six days before the
Jewish Passover, Jesus —- on His way to Jerusalem for the final time
—- was invited to stay in Bethany where Lazarus lived, who was recently
raised from the dead by Jesus.
It was here that Lazarus’s sister called Mary anointed
the feet of Jesus with a bottle of very expensive ointment and wiped them
with her hair. We are told that Mary did not use a little bit of the costly
perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet, she used the whole lot and an extremely
pleasant odour spread throughout the entire house.
Judas Iscariot however was not pleased, in fact he became infuriated.
He did not realise what was going on, he was blinded by deceit and selfish
greed and exclaimed "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three
hundred denarii and given to the poor?" But he did not care for
the poor but his own pocket. Saint John tells us "he was a thief,
since he had the moneybox, and he used to take what was put into it".
But Jesus demanded austerely, "Leave her alone!"
(Jn 12:7). Because he knew Judas’s thoughts which seemed good outside
but were not the will of God. Jesus also knew that this selfless act of
love by Mary would be recorded in the Bible for all to hear and learn
for many years to come.
Beloved Brethren how many times do we all do righteous acts
which are not done with good intentions but for our own personal gain.
Here we learn that an act done out of selfless love is supported and never
rejected by God, but a good act done out of force or personal gain is
despised by God. So we see two types of people, the one who seeks to do
good out of selfish gain, and the one who seeks to please God out of selfless
love.
It is important to note that anointing with such expensive oil
was the traditional practice reserved for the deceased, the dead.
But Jesus was not dead yet, he was very much alive. Then why did all this
happen now, you may ask? Mary was foretelling the crucifixion of
our Lord on the cross, and His burial in the tomb by her simple actions
motivated purely by love. Our Lord specifically states that "she
(Mary) has kept this for the day of My burial." (Jn 12:7). Here the
actions of Mary teach us that Jesus was already dead to this world and
to His human temptations. We too who attempt to live a life in Christ
must also be dead to this world if we ever want to receive Christ.
The next major lesson we are taught is not as apparent as the former.
The entrance of our Lord as king into the city of Jerusalem marks the
beginning of our journey through the eight days of the Great and Holy
Week.
When all the Jewish pilgrims were gathered for the great feast
of Passover and heard that the Messiah, the King of kings, the one who
could resurrect the dead, was coming to their great city, Jerusalem. They
all became very ecstatic and celebrated His coming by going out to greet
Him by quickly breaking off branches of palm trees and throwing them in
front of the path of the donkey, which He rode. They yelled out "Hosanna!"
which means "save us now" in Hebrew. And they also cried out
"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord — Oh King of
Israel."
Jesus however did not come like a tyrant King, a King of war, nor
did he come wearing a crown or distinguished clothing, he did not come
with chariots and body-guards, nor with His own personal army. He came
as a humble servant of God fulfilling everything that was prophesied about
Him.
They were expecting a lion but received a lamb. They were expecting
a King of war yet He came as a king of peace. They were expecting a king
who would lead the people to rebellion, yet He taught them obedience to
God. They expected to see the blood of their foreign overlords and enemies,
yet He spilt His own on the cross. They wanted someone to look up to,
yet He lowered His head and let them spit on Him, whip Him, beat Him and
torture Him. They were expecting someone on a large valiant horse, yet
He came on a small brown donkey.
We are told that in Jewish tradition the donkey was used as a sign
that a king was coming in peace. Whereas a decorated horse was
often a sign of a king proclaiming war or displaying the pomp of victory
over his enemies. The Roman authorities were probably laughing and mocking
at the sight of Jesus riding into the City on a small donkey. Yet many
Jews were probably angry, disheartened, disappointed and disillusioned
to say the least. In only a few days the cheering of the Jews who exclaimed
"Hosanah" save us now, would soon change to a wild frenzy
of "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!!". Jesus however foreknew
and foretold that all this would happen. For it was all revealed to the
prophets of Israel and to Him by His Father in heaven.
How is Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem relevant to us today you
may ask? Well dear brethren, we may benefit from today’s gospel reading
by accepting Christ as a lamb, a humble servant of peace
and love and not as a lion, a rebellious king of war.
Beloved Brethren today is truly the day of the Lord, so let us
rejoice in it. In the same way He entered Jerusalem with great rejoicing
let us bring God into our hearts, let us accept His love in our own bodies
which are temples of the Holy Spirit, for His Love endures forever. Finally
let everything that we do be done for the glory of God with selfless love
and selfless sacrifice, so that His will be done on earth as it is in
heaven — Amen.
by
Kosmas Damianides
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
Parish of St Nektarios, Perth WA
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