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SERMONS |
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Protopriest Leonid Kolchev
Sermon
Today the Orthodox Church prayerfully marks an event from the earthly
life of Jesus Christ that occurred six days before the Jewish Passover.
Christ’s disciples, fulfilling the will of their Teacher, brought
a young donkey upon whom no one had yet sat, covered it with raiments,
seated Jesus Christ upon it, and a ceremonious yet humble procession
commenced from the small town of Bethany into Jerusalem. The crowd
gathered in great numbers for the Passover, and, hearing that their
beloved Teacher was coming, He Who was renowned for many wondrous
signs and miracles, they flocked to see Him. Apparently expecting
this to be the beginning of the expected Kingdom of Israel, overcome
by joy, they took off their garments and laid them down along His
path, while others, in the Oriental custom of welcoming victorious
warriors with palm fronds in their hands, cried "Hosanna,"
that is, "grant salvation," "To the Son of David,
blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the
highest, even the King of Israel!"
Against the background of this joyful crowd, dressed in bright Eastern
clothing and flooded with sunlight from the bright, cloudless sky,
the concentrated, sad visage of Christ stood out: Within this ocean
of people He saw the scribes and Pharisees, who sputtered with hateful
resentment. He knew that these elated shouts of "Hosanna"
would soon turn to the crazed shrieks of "Crucify Him! We have
no king but Caesar!" He foresaw that this city of sin, in full
view now from the Mount of Olives, would soon be destroyed, so that
not one stone would lie upon another. He saw that many would not
take benefit from His meritorious struggles, and, as though crucifying
Him once again, would turn away from His love and would perish.
Christ even weptÉ
Taking our example from the Jews, we now also stand at vigil in
prayerful greeting of the Lord, with pussy willows and candles in
our hands. Profound meaning lies underneath this tradition.
Just as after a long winter slumber, nature awakens with the advent
of spring, with the first harbinger of this being the pussy willow,
in the same way do we, after death, sooner or later awaken again.
The righteous will be resurrected for eternal blessed life, where
they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father,
which is represented by the candle flames in our handsÉ while the
sinnersÉ the sinners—But let us not talk of them, so as not to darken
this solemn celebration. The pussy willow which we held yesterday
breathed the air of fresh life, and, had it remained on the tree,
would have been covered with leaves and adorned with flowers, but
cut off—it slowly begins to dry out. This reminds us of Christ’s
words: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides
in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can
do nothing" (John 15:1, 5-6). So let each one of us adorn ourselves
with the leaves of good thoughts and with the flowers of faith and
piety. And so, brethren, looking upon the blessed pussy willow, which we usually keep in a place of honor along with our holy icons, let us remember the resurrection that awaits us. Gazing upon the pussy willow, let us learn to nourish ourselves with the flourishing tree, that is, with the Church of Christ. Looking upon the pussy willow, let us not take as an example those who saddened the Lord and perished "in the dark halls of death." Looking upon the pussy willow, let us joyfully sing to our Christ God: "We cry out to You, the victor over death, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Amen. |
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