Seventh Sunday of Lent (Palm Sunday)

The church put in front of us the following readings:

*The first reading of the prophecy of Zechariah 4: 8-14; 7: 9-10; 8: 4-19; 9: 1-12 

The text begins with talking about the vision of Zechariah about the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem by Zerubbabel and the High Priest Joshua, chosen by God, and is symbolized by two olive branches. Then he calls on the people to behave straightforwardly. He promises that the people will return to Jerusalem and enjoy a long life filled with contentment and peace of mind. They will test the sincerity of God's promises. The people have learned their lesson and repented of their wrong so that God will change His attitude towards them. Sometimes they became a curse before the nations, but from now on, they will be a blessing because God is with them. God has allowed our neighborhoods to be humiliated because of their sins. Now, after their repentance, he will glorify them. But on the condition that they continue to live in truth and justice, rejecting evil and deceit. Their fasting at the specified times will benefit them as they “rejoice on their feasts and love truth and peace.” They have endured enough pain to be happy now and to be in the eyes of the peoples of the region proud of their pride and faith. This is achieved by the hands of her Divine Sovereign, who comes to them: just, sincere, meek, and humble, who rides a donkey instead of a royal chariot, and is preceded by chants of peace and brotherhood instead of cries of war and revenge.

 

*Second reading from Romans 11: 13-24 

The Jews have fallen again into the sin of ungratefulness. They crucified their just and meek king. This led to pagans believing in Christ. Their fall turned into wealth for the pagans. But their misstep does not erase God's promise to the fathers. And their divine root remains sacred because not all people have sinned, but rather their leaders. Some green sometimes burned with dry fire. But it didn't burn all of it. The original has remained sacred. And this root is able, by the grace of God, to be green again and bear fruit like a perennial olive. God will one day restore the grafting of his people's olives for the fathers' sake and for the reason of his love that never goes back. The teaching is not for pruned olive branches, but for Christians, who are the branches grafted onto the original stem, on Abraham's faith, Moses's obedience, the purity of David's heart, the loving holiness of Mary, and the testimony of the apostles. The promise of life is for those who remain faithful to the Word of God in truth and righteousness.

 

*The third reading of Matthew 29: 20-21-22 

describes when the royal Jesus entered Jerusalem. He sends two disciples, whom he dispatched to prepare the Passover, qualifying him an official chariot for a royal procession. A chariot is a raw colt that no one could ride on (Mark 11: 2), as Zachariah prophesied, and a saddle that consisted of the clothes of the two disciples, and an ornament that is olive and palm branches, and a procession formed by a multitude of his listeners and those who hold on to it, with the hope of salvation, old and young, expressing their clothes. On Earth in honor of their beloved king. On such occasions, they started chanting with joy and clarification: "Oshana.”  It “means (Save us). Then it took on the meaning of the greeting and the chant, meaning “Long live to  the king.” 

Man has been proud since the beginning. Throughout the generations, he has flaunted himself and sought the glory of appearance in clothing and transportation. Behold, the new person is humbled and humiliated before God the Creator to give him alone glory and honor. Man's greatness is not in outward appearances but is in the mind and heart, in following the truth and conducting love. The demonstrators do not go out on the street from themselves, but some incite them and push them for some benefit. But for Jesus, the multitudes' love and attachment to Jesus drove them to do so. They only expressed their joy and glorified those who show in Him their Christ and Redeemer