Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion Sunday, March 29, 10:15 am
The first day of Holy Week has traditionally been called Palm Sunday. Worship that day typically begins with a reading of the account of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem accompanied by a procession where people wave palm branches. This mirrors the events of Jesus’ entry into the holy city to the shouts of “Hosanna to the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The crowd that day sought to make him king. However, the glory of that day is soon replaced by the Passion of our Lord as he is betrayed, arrested, abused, and crucified.
This Sunday, then, carried us through both the celebration of the palm procession to the pain of Jesus’ death on the cross. During the service, we first process with palms and shouts of “Hosanna” and the end the service by reading the Passion of Our Lord from Matthew’s Gospel. From joy to sorrow, from palms to pain, from life to death. This is Palm Sunday, Sunday of the Passion.
