Vespers for Palm Sunday
Here are the key words from the Old Testament Readings:
Genesis 49:1-2; 8-12 – Jacob’s last words to his sons: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between His feet, until He comes to whom it belongs; and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
Prophet Zephaniah 3:14-19 – “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more.”
Jesus Christ did not come to make us feel sorry for Him because of His sufferings. He came as a warrior to do battle. He came, as we sing, to “trample down death by death”. He came to go before us into death, to lead our way into death, to enter into the place of the dead and free the devil’s captives, to set us who still live free from the fear of death, to lead us all into the Light.
All icons by permission of Saint Isaac’s Skete at skete.com
Prophet Zachariah 9:9-15 – “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your King comes to you; triumphant and victorious is He, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and He shall command peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
The Apostle John wrote about this: “Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’ At first His disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that these things had been done to Him.” John 11:14-16
How to Keep Holy Week
From tomorrow’s Epistle: “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:4-9
What does this have to do with Holy Week? It’s because there is nothing more noble, more lovely, better, more praiseworthy than what we celebrate during this Blessed Week. There is wonder and power and new life in this Week. I say again: As best you can, brothers and sisters, try to put lesser things aside, and live this Week with Jesus Christ and His blessed Mother and His Apostles.
So now, prepare!
And beware! Satan often throws problems at us this Week. I noticed especially at church that things suddenly broke or got out of order. (Why won’t the tower bells ring?) And people came to me with sudden major issues. I usually said “Wait till next week” – and next week usually the issues had vanished.
So… this Week do things you must do, especially for charitable reasons. But otherwise, unless the house is on fire, put it off. There’s very little that can’t wait a week. Please do not get distracted.
And do not get upset. This Week Satan often tries to get us irritated by little things. Watch out for it. I know from experience that he comes at clergy, because they are together so much and are so busy. At Saint Nicholas we always made a Holy Week pact to “sit on it”, no matter how much we irritated each other. Dear ones, control your tongues this week. Whatever nasty thing you’re suddenly tempted to say, zip your lips. If nasty thoughts even enter your mind, cast them out. Who knows? Maybe it will make you feel so good that you’ll want to continue the practice!
In this way, we all can have a blessed, peaceful, inspirational Holy Week with Jesus and His Mother and His Apostles – and with each other.
Holy Week at church always seemed to me like a prefiguring of the Kingdom of Heaven: God’s people gathered together, worshiping Him, loving Him and each other. And so this Week, we will have a glimpse, a foretaste of Heaven and of the Eternal Pascha to come.
Next Post: Saturday evening – for Palm Sunday Liturgy