It's Palm Sunday. I am reminded of when I was a young man attending St. Luke's episcopal church. I was a member of the junior choir and latter served on the alter. In those days I was well aware of the changing of the seasons, the church seasons that is, and all the associated holy days. But the years have passed and the times have changed, the past resides where it should, in memory. I no longer attend church services on a regular basis, the truth being, it is a rare occasion these days. For that reason these holy days sneak up on me. I hadn't realized it was Palm Sunday until I got up and turned on social media. I saw a posting and was reminded.
When I was young the palms would arrive in a big box, today I expect it would be Amazon. I recall going to the church hall on Saturday to help with that. The palms had to taken from the box and split. It's been many years now since I helped with that chore and memory can play tricks on you. I want to say you took each palm frond and split or separated each strand. I do remember placing those palms in wicker baskets that would be used to distribute them at the services the next day. I also remember learning that those palms came from Florida.That was a bit of a surprise, I figured they came from Jerusalem! It was a bit of a disappointment to be honest about it. Why I never associated palms with palm tress I can't say, I knew palm trees grew in Florida my Dad had pictures of them. But, I was assured they were the same kind of palms that were used in Jesus day. I was taught the significance of them, how they had been used for centuries as a symbol of peace and prosperity. Why you could see pictures of palms engraved on Solomon's temple! Well, if the temple still stood you could anyway.
All of that was well over fifty years now. It's an amazing thing to think about. I expect similar scenes took place just yesterday in church halls across the country. I still have a couple pieces of palm my grandchildren brought me some years back. I remember making those palm fronds into a cross. Seemed like everyone did. They would be saved for a while and at some point just disappeared. I'm not sure of their fate but I do know they were blessed. Yes, on Palm Sunday the palms would be blessed before being distributed. They were to be treated with respect! We justified making them into crosses by saying the cross is blessed , so doing that to the palms must be okay. Makes sense doesn't it? But, the point was, we didn't throw them on the ground or play with them.
When I was growing up the church seasons were linked to the seasons of the year. Each one had meaning and heralded some big event. As I said I went to the Episcopal church and so there was much ceremony, not as much as those Catholics though. I wasn't sure what the Presbyterians and Baptists were doing. I knew they all celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter, just not sure if they celebrated the same way. I did assume the Easter Bunny was non-denominational, although rarely mentioned in church. Then the late sixties arrived and there was guitar playing in church. Very progressive and cutting edge. A whole new form of worship, right there in the sanctuary! It was the only sanctuary I knew in those days, strangely I never felt all that safe there, guess it was a guilty conscious. Now we have entire cities that claim to be a sanctuary! Not surprisingly I don't think I would feel safe there either. A guilty conscious? No, not in that situation. But I'm not going to mix politics into all of this. Of course when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem he was viewed not as a prophet so much as a political figure. The majority of his followers thought he was going to rule the Jews. That's why they called him the king of the Jews, they meant an actual king! It isn't what he was telling them but it is what many heard. Same thing happens to us today. People do tend to hear what they want to hear.
Some years back I wrote a blog about looking for my friends house. I was talking about finding a church. I went looking for St. Luke's in the nineteen sixties and couldn't find it. Time has changed and St. Luke's remains in memory. It will always be so. The majority of my religious experiences did occur there. There was never a moment of revelation, no ground shaking epiphany. What there was was a quiet acceptance, a comfort in the familiar. I felt at home there. I knew all the ceremonies , the proper responses and the rituals. That church was my home and my friend lived there. I have discovered that my friend travels with me everywhere I go, although I was not always aware of that. I thought I might find him in another house. And I have, he is here in my home. Have a blessed Palm Sunday everyone.
You know I remember hearing that song " he's got the whole world, in his hands, " and thinking, palms! He's got the whole world in the palms of his hands. Are we using the wrong kind of palms? I remember seeing a picture of Jesus, arms outstretched, his hands palms up, maybe that is what I was thinking about. Is that why we call the palm of our hands, palms? An invitation? That is why when meeting people you don't know you show them your empty hand, palm first, see, no weapons. A gesture of friendship. Funny how one word can represent different objects while meaning the same thing. And what of the gesture where you put the palm of your hand against your face? What's that mean? A moment of revelation? Or a moment of disbelief? Something to consider.
When I was young the palms would arrive in a big box, today I expect it would be Amazon. I recall going to the church hall on Saturday to help with that. The palms had to taken from the box and split. It's been many years now since I helped with that chore and memory can play tricks on you. I want to say you took each palm frond and split or separated each strand. I do remember placing those palms in wicker baskets that would be used to distribute them at the services the next day. I also remember learning that those palms came from Florida.That was a bit of a surprise, I figured they came from Jerusalem! It was a bit of a disappointment to be honest about it. Why I never associated palms with palm tress I can't say, I knew palm trees grew in Florida my Dad had pictures of them. But, I was assured they were the same kind of palms that were used in Jesus day. I was taught the significance of them, how they had been used for centuries as a symbol of peace and prosperity. Why you could see pictures of palms engraved on Solomon's temple! Well, if the temple still stood you could anyway.
All of that was well over fifty years now. It's an amazing thing to think about. I expect similar scenes took place just yesterday in church halls across the country. I still have a couple pieces of palm my grandchildren brought me some years back. I remember making those palm fronds into a cross. Seemed like everyone did. They would be saved for a while and at some point just disappeared. I'm not sure of their fate but I do know they were blessed. Yes, on Palm Sunday the palms would be blessed before being distributed. They were to be treated with respect! We justified making them into crosses by saying the cross is blessed , so doing that to the palms must be okay. Makes sense doesn't it? But, the point was, we didn't throw them on the ground or play with them.
When I was growing up the church seasons were linked to the seasons of the year. Each one had meaning and heralded some big event. As I said I went to the Episcopal church and so there was much ceremony, not as much as those Catholics though. I wasn't sure what the Presbyterians and Baptists were doing. I knew they all celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter, just not sure if they celebrated the same way. I did assume the Easter Bunny was non-denominational, although rarely mentioned in church. Then the late sixties arrived and there was guitar playing in church. Very progressive and cutting edge. A whole new form of worship, right there in the sanctuary! It was the only sanctuary I knew in those days, strangely I never felt all that safe there, guess it was a guilty conscious. Now we have entire cities that claim to be a sanctuary! Not surprisingly I don't think I would feel safe there either. A guilty conscious? No, not in that situation. But I'm not going to mix politics into all of this. Of course when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem he was viewed not as a prophet so much as a political figure. The majority of his followers thought he was going to rule the Jews. That's why they called him the king of the Jews, they meant an actual king! It isn't what he was telling them but it is what many heard. Same thing happens to us today. People do tend to hear what they want to hear.
Some years back I wrote a blog about looking for my friends house. I was talking about finding a church. I went looking for St. Luke's in the nineteen sixties and couldn't find it. Time has changed and St. Luke's remains in memory. It will always be so. The majority of my religious experiences did occur there. There was never a moment of revelation, no ground shaking epiphany. What there was was a quiet acceptance, a comfort in the familiar. I felt at home there. I knew all the ceremonies , the proper responses and the rituals. That church was my home and my friend lived there. I have discovered that my friend travels with me everywhere I go, although I was not always aware of that. I thought I might find him in another house. And I have, he is here in my home. Have a blessed Palm Sunday everyone.
You know I remember hearing that song " he's got the whole world, in his hands, " and thinking, palms! He's got the whole world in the palms of his hands. Are we using the wrong kind of palms? I remember seeing a picture of Jesus, arms outstretched, his hands palms up, maybe that is what I was thinking about. Is that why we call the palm of our hands, palms? An invitation? That is why when meeting people you don't know you show them your empty hand, palm first, see, no weapons. A gesture of friendship. Funny how one word can represent different objects while meaning the same thing. And what of the gesture where you put the palm of your hand against your face? What's that mean? A moment of revelation? Or a moment of disbelief? Something to consider.
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