Palm Sunday - Jesus is not an illusion
Today we carry palm branches in our hands to greet Jesus. At the beginning of mass, we go into the church in procession and sing hymns of praise.
Altarboys of an Outstation of Peramiho Parish
In Africa, the faithful also hold their palm branches in their hands during Mass, especially when the Sanctus is sung: "Hosanna, who comes in the name of the Lord."
When there are more than 1000 people in the church, you can hear the wind rustling as everyone moves their branches. This is an image for the Holy Spirit, who breathes wherever people pray.
And today we are playing out what people did back then when they greeted Jesus.
We Christians today celebrate Palm Sunday as a feast with the knowledge that Jesus died and rose from the dead. We celebrate this every Sunday when we celebrate the Eucharist. Especially when we sing at the Sanctus: "Hosanna, he who comes in the name of the Lord".
But back then, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was an illusion! People had the wrong idea about Jesus. The palms they carried were meant for a "king" who would free them from the oppression of the Romans. But that was not what Jesus wanted.
Children in a rural Outstation of Peramiho Parish
The people were all the more disappointed when Jesus did not establish the secular reign they had expected, but instead died on the cross.
The new life that Jesus gave us was only revealed to Jesus' disciples after the resurrection.
The palm branches today are already a sign of the resurrection, that Jesus is now alive among us. And that we believe that he will come at the end of time.
The palm branches are not there to pay homage to an image of Jesus, a Jesus as I would like him to be, which is an illusion. With the palm branches we greet the real Jesus, the Christ, who gave us new life through his death and resurrection.
~Prior, Fr. Anastasius Reiser, OSB