Palm Sunday

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday | Sunday, March 29

8:00am - Holy Eucharist Rite I
- Childcare available from 9:00 am to noon.

10:30am - Holy Eucharist Rite II
- with Blessing of Palms, Solemn Procession, and Sung Passion Gospel

Palm Sunday begins our shared journey into the heart of the Christian faith. We remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where he is first greeted with joy and triumph, acclaimed as king, the Anointed One of God, who comes to his people, riding humbly on a colt, as the people wave branches of palm and spread their garments at his feet.

Palms, symbols of victory and honor, are raised in hope of a conquering Messiah. The scene fulfills the prophet’s promise: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! … Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). The victory Christ brings, though, upturns every expectation, salvation not through violence and domination, but through the long-suffering, self-giving love of God.

This is the tension we inhabit on Palm Sunday. Those who cry “Hosanna!” will in only a few days cry “Crucify him!” As we process with Jesus and his disciples into the holy city, we begin his voluntary journey toward the Cross, a path that leads, through death, to resurrection, and Jerusalem itself becomes a sign of the heavenly city, the Kingdom of God.