Palm Sunday

Holy Week Begins

Some people may think there’s an overly formal culture in the Orthodox Church. Holy Week, in many ways, shows there’s a lot more going on. I can’t go into explaining all of the symbolism, but Palm Sunday is where it starts. It’s actually quite a festive day with the entire church decked out with palm branches. It’s all to commemorate and celebrate Jesus coming to Jerusalem, as King.

Sometimes it seems on modern times, the impact of this day is sort of lost. Imagine a sort of grass roots movement, of a large crowd gathering at your state or nation’s capitol, hailing to welcome a certain someone as the true king or president…while there is someone already sitting in this place. The national security is noticing this large gathering, warning the people to not commit a form of treason. Yet, the people cry out all the more.

Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week, leading to a series of services called the Bridegroom service. The church enters into a posture of being with Jesus in Jerusalem for the next several days. Throughout, there is a foreboding thought that a dark moment is coming.