Sunday, April 1, 2012

Palm Sunday

IMAGE153_300

It is Palm Sunday today. It is the day the Christians celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection. For many Christian churches, Palm Sunday, also referred to as ‘Passion Sunday’, marks the beginning of the Holy Week, which concludes on Easter Sunday.

Jesus Christ was seen riding a donkey into Jerusalem. The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war. Therefore, Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem symbolised his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

No wonder the Priest was sharing with us that donkey is the main symbol for this celebration. He mentioned that donkeys were always on hard work in the past and therefore, donkeys were seen as humble animals.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds greeted him by waving palm branches and covered his path with palm branches. Immediately following this great time of celebration in the ministry of Jesus, he begins his journey to the cross which I will continue in the next post..

No comments: