I've been enjoying the Western New York winter, even going so far as to make fun of the local who gave me such a hard time about the winters when I arrived from The South. We have a fair bit of snow over the past few days, about eight inches. It didn't all fall at once in a blizzard-like rush, it's been snowing slowly and steadily. It's a beautiful picture-postcard-style snow: big clumps of flakes drifting slowly to the ground.
Then it occurred to me: it's Easter in two weeks and there's a half-foot of snow on the ground. I'm leading our village's Easter Sunrise service outside, in the village cemetery! Ack!! I really don't want to sing Christ the Lord is Risen Today in my snowboots! Well, we'll see how things develop. In the event of actual bad weather, we'll move the service inside. If it's just cold, we'll tough it out and head for the cemetery.
I'm getting ready for Palm Sunday. We're getting proper palm leaves for our Hosanna procession. I've always had real palm leaves on Palm Sunday, but I've been spoiled. This will be the first time in recent memory for this church.
I preached on the Lazarus story yesterday. In John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus is the straw that broke the back of the Jewish leaders. After they heard about it, they began actively plotting Jesus' death. Next Sunday, Palm Sunday, we see Jesus entering Jerusalem in triumph. The crowds wave palm fronds and sing Hosanna! What's lost on most Christians today is that this was a radical political act in Jesus' time. It had been generations since the Jews had actually ruled their own country.
Back in the second century BC, Israel had been ruled by the Hasmonean Dynasty. These Jewish rulers had revolted against their Greek rulers and won true independence for Israel for the first time in hundreds of years. They pushed back the borders, reclaiming territory last held in Solomon's reign. But, for all their success, the Hasmoneans had difficulties. First of all, they were not of "proper" lineage. Tradition demanded a king of the House of David and a high priest of the House of Zadok; they were neither. Secondly, there were bitter internal rivalries among them. In the end, it got so bad that battling princes sought outside held to shore up their own positions. They sought the power and influence of Rome. Once the Romans were invited to to the party, things fell apart rapidly. When the dust settled, the Hasmoneans were gone and the Romans ruled the land. (You can read about the Jewish revolution in 1 and 2 Maccabees.)
I mention this brief history lesson to shine a light on the political tensions of Jesus' day, and also to point to a powerful symbol of independence. On some coins minted during the Hasmonean Dynasty--the last time Israel ruled itself--appeared images of palm leaves. Palm leaves also appear on some other coins of the period. It seemed to be a national symbol of Judea. It may have been a symbol of the Hasmoneans and of Jewish independence from foreign rule. Waving palm leaves as Jesus enters the city may have been seen as a blatant political act, like waving a red flag in front of a (Roman) bull.
If the raising of Lazarus got the Jewish leaders plotting Jesus' death. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, amid waving palm leaves, set him at odds with secular authority. Jesus had run afoul of each of these authorities (religious and secular) before. Antagonizing both of them was like bringing together gasoline and fire. The result was explosive, and quicly cost Jesus his life.
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