Palm Sunday 2025 Fr Nicholas Carr

of the holy spirit glory to jesus christ congratulations

to everyone you have made it through the great

fast through great lent after forgiveness sunday

we boarded the great clipper ship and we left

the harbor and we began the long journey over

the vast waters of Great Lent, and we have now

arrived here on an island, an island with two

parts, Lazarus Saturday, which yesterday filled

us all with joy at the many baptisms and the

presence of the Holy Spirit, and now this day,

Palm Sunday. Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus

Christ called us to follow him through those

40 days, and we did so to the very best of our

abilities, and we have made it here to Palm Sunday

where Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem, and

we are with him as he enters. he enters the gates

of Jerusalem and a great gathering of people

there, the Gospel of John tells us, took up branches

of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried

out, Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the

name of the Lord, the King of Israel. And just

as the prophet Zechariah had said, Jesus rode...

on a young donkey, and he entered into the city

of Jerusalem, cheered on by the many people assembled

there. The Messiah entered victoriously, but

the nature of this victory the people did not

fully understand. Not even the disciples understood.

For though Jesus enters Jerusalem as the king

of kings, they expect him to raise physical armies

and to throw out the Romans. But Jesus had arrived

to fight a spiritual battle, a much greater battle,

and to win a spiritual victory, to conquer not...

armies of soldiers something so simple and mundane,

but to conquer the powers of darkness, to trample

down sin and death. The masses expected victory

from a human perspective, but our Lord and God

and Savior Jesus Christ was winning a spiritual

victory by trampling down death by death and

upon those in the tombs, bestowing life. And

now you and I are on this island of Lazarus Saturday

and Palm Sunday, and just as before, Jesus calls

us to follow him, to walk with him, to walk with

Christ through Holy Week. with all that it holds,

including his death and burial, until we ultimately

will reach his resurrection. Metropolitan Anthony

Bloom has said this in his homily on the entry

into Jerusalem. During the coming days, we shall

be present, not just remember, but be present

at Christ's passion. We shall be part of the

crowd surrounding Christ and the disciples and

the mother of God. And as we hear the gospel

readings, as we listen to the prayers of the

church, as one image after another of these days

of the passion passes before our eyes. Let each

one of us ask himself the question, where do

I stand? Who am I in this crowd? A Pharisee?

A scribe? A traitor? A coward? Who? Or do I stand

among the apostles? But they too were overcome

by fear. Peter denied him thrice. Judas betrayed

him. John, James, and Peter went to sleep just

when Christ most needed human love and support.

The other disciples fled. No one remained except

John and the mother of God, those who were bound

to him by the kind of love which fears nothing

and is ready to share in everything. So let this

be our goal. to follow the great example given

to us by the Apostle John and by the Holy Mother

of God, to have such love for Christ that we

do not depart from him, but that we follow him

all the way to that glorious day of the resurrection.

Come to services, fast and pray, and together...

We will complete the final part of our voyage

to Pascha, and we will sail into that final harbor

on that blessed day of the resurrection. Glory

to Jesus Christ.