In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. And
spraza come a joyous feast day. Before I address
some remarks about the Gospel and Epistle, I
just want to affirm and express my love for all
of you, and express my congratulations that we
have reached the end of Lent. And now we stand
on the eve of Great and Holy Week. And today
we celebrate this feast day. I congratulate this
feast day. I want to express again that I miss
all of you. That I hope that very soon we can
come together by God's grace. This Holy Week
is going to be difficult. You might think it's
easy for the priests because... You don't really
have to, as a priest, you don't really have to
see anybody in between services. You come to
church, you do the service, you stream it, you
put on these little devices, you know, which
12th grade audiovisual class didn't really prepare
us for. And we do the service, we go home, and
nobody bothers us. But this is not an easy thing
that's quite a burden. The prophet Zechariah
said something centuries and centuries before
in an inspirational vision about the Messiah
who would come to lead, to be the king, and how
he would come and enter into the city, precisely
as Solomon did. on a donkey when he was anointed
king. The prophet Zacharias says this, Do not
fear, O daughter of Zion. Behold, thy king comes
to thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly
and riding upon an ass, upon a colt, the foal
of an ass. St. Gregory Palamas says that your
king, the one that comes, doesn't arouse fear
in those who see him. Nor is he an oppressor
or an evildoer accompanied by shield -bearers
and spearmen, warhorses, in our case tanks, and
jets, and bombs, and mortars, and internet warfare.
His banner is humility. poverty, and lowliness.
This is all history, yes, but it's history that
directly affects us because without that day,
we would not be here. That day, to begin with,
gives us such hope and consolation in our troubled
times. St. John's account of the entrance into
Jerusalem itself is primary for us. The beauty
and humility of that Mary who came to Jesus.
And we hear again another woman anointing his
feet. This is our stance now. This is how we
have to be if we're going to even understand
what Palm Sunday means. We have to be like that
woman. coming to Jesus, knowing he's going to
be crucified, and seem a failure to those around,
to the people that had expectations. Jesus doesn't
come to fulfill our expectations. He comes to
give us what we need, what we're desperate for,
and we don't even know. St. Paul's letter to
the Philippians also encourages us, helps us
celebrate. St. John describes the entrance into
Jerusalem. Jesus is acclaimed as king. The Christ,
we lift up the palm branches, we acclaim Jesus
for ourself as our king. That's why it means
so much to us now. The one who is the vanquisher,
as it says over and over we sing it, the vanquisher
of death, over sin, over life. over everything
we can offer him, over everything in our life,
everything we hope for. He is king of that. Those
who rejected Christ out of fear and pride, and
still do, they saw the same miracles that everyone
else saw. And still, they sought to put Christ
to death. The selection of St. Paul's letter
to the Philippians is beautiful and inspiring,
but it may seem a strange choice for this day.
It mentions nothing about the cross, the passion,
nothing about Palm Sunday, and St. Paul doesn't
speak of that anyway. So why? Once again, it's
my contention that like that woman, if we don't
have the qualities that St. Paul is, commanding
us, exhorting us to acquire. We will never, not
just be able to not celebrate Palm Sunday, or
Holy Week, or Pascha, and our baptism will be
a sham over the years. Here's what St. Paul says.
Rejoice in the Lord always. This is the eve of
the saddest week. for Christians to contemplate
the betrayal of mankind over their Savior, the
loving, humble one who comes on a donkey. But
still, St. Paul, writing from prison in Rome,
before his own execution, rejoice in the Lord
always. Again, I say rejoice. Let your gentleness
be known to all. I wonder, do we think of that
when we encounter others these days online or
in a line? The Lord is at hand. And he truly
is. He truly is, brothers and sisters. Be anxious
for nothing, he says, but in everything by prayer
and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God and the peace of
God, the shalom, irini, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus
Christ. We have to pray for that peace, that
shalom, so our heart will be guarded in this
evil age. Finally, brethren, He says, whatever
things are true, and let me say, the word brethren
means men and women. It sounds like brothers,
but it means men and women. Finally, brethren,
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. That's our stance for Holy Week.
That's why this reading is chosen by the church
for the last over 1 ,500 years. The things which
you learned and received and you heard and saw
in me, these do. And the God of peace will be
with you. It's the hope of that peace. The word
shalom or irini sounds like peace. The word peace
sounds like something different. Pax. The Roman
peace. Insured by military force. Irini. Shalom
is from God. It's in the hope of that. That enables
us to live. Enabled us to endure the trials of
life. That life brings us. This time when we're
troubled or stressed or confused or angry, frustrated
about the situation, which means we're lost,
basically, as everyone else in society. And then
we think all our efforts, everything, swept away
by death and by time, as if we had never existed.
And people will look at us, Orthodox Christians,
and say, well, Christians are no different than
us. Christians have worldly expectations and
hopes too. Why should we become Christian? Why
should we believe in Christ? Well, to the contrary.
As Father Maximus from Holy Cross quoted St.
Silouan, St. Silouan said this in prayer, O Christ,
don't give me more joy, or else my heart will
break. But what do we say? Christ, don't give
me more stress, or problems, or difficulties,
or else my heart will break. Do you see the difference?
Let's beg our Savior that we may live not just
Holy Week and Pascha and the bright season, but
all our life, remembering the Lord is at hand.
Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness
be known to all.