THE TIME OF PESSAH [PASSOVER] AND
THE CHRISTIAN TIME OF PALM SUNDAY
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Jewish Readings :
Ashkenazim � Sefardim : Ezekiel 37 : 1-14. Yemenite : Ezekiel 36 : 1 � 37 : 14.
Sunday, April 20 / 7, 2003 THE ENTRY OF THE LORD INTO JERUSALEM
Palm Sunday.
Dismissal Hymn. Fourth Tone.
As by baptism we were buried with You, O Christ our God, so by Your Resurrection we were deemed worthy of immortal life; and praising You, we cry : Hoshanna in the Highest; Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.
Kontakion Plagal of Second Tone.
Being borne upon a throne in Heaven, and upon a colt on the earth, O Christ, God, You did accept the praise of the Angels and the laudation of the children as they cried to You : Blessed is He that comes to recall Adam.
Matins : The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 21 : 1-111, 15-17.
The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostomos.
The Holy Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians 4 : 4 � 9.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint John 12 : 1 � 18.
We should be very attentive during all this period leading to the Holy Week, from the Lazarus Day to the Resurrection of the Lord to the profound link between the Jewish tradition and its Readings after Pessah [Passover] and what the Christian faithful is going through and leads him and the Church as Body of Christ to the ingathering in Jerusalem.
The Holy Week � as the Great Lent! � is a time of Halleluiah, Alleluia, Chanting the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and earth. The Orthodox as in a paradox toward the Western Churches is basically celebrating all through Lenten time the Resurrection of the Lord. It might seem that the Latin Churches and for example the magnificent ancient Ambrosian rite of Milan is centered on the death of Jesus Christ. As Saint Paul says about the Eucharist : � For as often you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord�s death till He come�.
On the other hand, the Orthodox Byzantine as the ancien orthodox Churches [Syrian, Copts, Armenians], permanently focus on the Resurrection of the Lord. For the Oriental traditions, especially in Jerusalem, the Way of the Cross is begiginning at Bethfageh, with the celebration of Lazarus resurrection on a shabbat. Please do read the extraordinary conversation between Jesus and Martha and note that Jesus is not very quick to go to visit Lazarus whom He loved so much[ John 11:1-45]. Either the game is over and there is no hope, or salvation requires time, a long time. It needs to mature in order to be authentified and accepted as a reality by the people.
Lazarus is El yazor [God will help, helps]. He is the brother of the same Mary who had anointed Jesus with her hair and her sister is Martha. Martha says : �I know that he � her brother � will rise aigain in the resurrection at the last day�. Jesus answers to her : � I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.�[John 11:25]. Then the Jews wept over Lazarus, Jesus groaned. Some speculated : this man had opened the eyes of the blind and could he not have caused that even this man should not have died?
A constant interrogation, steadfast questioning : Jesus has done something, but what may happen next? It may be nothing. This attitude is understandable in a pagan world. What about a society that takes by vocation and not by birth the faith in Jesus Christ. Nobody can dare claim to be born a Christian. This is a permanent temptation of the Christian believers, especially of certain Christian nations. Christ saves whomever He wants, but this is a calling which needs to be heard and accepted from generation to generation. So we can speculate :either we consider that He saved once and forever all of OUR nation, which is theologically not correct and we are not moving toward Him anymore. Or, we move toward Jesus and then we may be shaken ;will He do more than He readily did in the Gospel?
In this year of tragic events and wars, conflicts, impoverishment in the Near and Middle East and various countries of the world, how can we be like this Lazarus and reflect what he represents for our days : that Jesus left us in order to let us make greater things than He did Himself.
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