Passion Sunday

Palm Sunday is a festive and joyous occasion as we commemorate our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem erven as be begin the week we observe our Lord’s suffering and death.  The practice of recreating this processional originated in Jerusalem where the people of the city, joined by pilgrims from many lands, retraced our Lord’s steps over the very route Jesus followed.  At the beginning of the liturgy this weekend we acclaim Jesus as the awaited Son of David, the Messianic King sent by God to deliver His people.

This Sunday is also somber and meditative.  The second portion of the service focuses on the Passion of Our Lord (passion, from the Latin, passio, suffering).  The reading of the Passion exposes our sin as the cause of our Lord’s death.  We hear the story of the passion knowing that Jesus’ death is not the end of the story.  In His resurrection, Jesus is revealed as the king who mounts His throne through the cross.