Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday - Mark 11

Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
Mark 11.1-11

As worship begins this Sunday, many congregations will re-enact Jesus’ march to Jerusalem in some fashion, often with children waving palms, people singing.

As the writer of Mark’s gospel tells it, Jesus’ entire ministry has been leading to Jerusalem. The crowds have been following Jesus from Galilee, about a hundred miles north. Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem, at the beginning of the Passover, the most sacred festival in the Jewish year, is not a spontaneous event. Jesus has planned the details of this street theater beforehand and send

Jesus did not invent the procession. Everyone was aware of imperial processions—Pontius Pilate the Roman governor riding at the head of the cavalry and soldiers carrying the golden eagles mounted on poles, the grand display of weaponry and the beat of the drums—it happened every year at the beginning of Passover, to bring reinforcements to town to augment the Roman garrison at the Antonia Fortress in case of an uprising. This Passover celebration of freedom from slavery in Egypt was a dangerous time for their new masters.s his disciples to carry out the arrangements he has made.

On this particular Passover, Jesus’ followers line the roadway to welcome Jesus, giving him the reception that royalty and military leaders usually received—the cloaks and leafy branches symbols of royalty and signs of loyalty and praise. Their response is a political statement against the religious and military leaders who were oppressing the people and a sign of the threat that Jesus posed to the good order of the Roman Empire and the religious establishment in Jerusalem.

This week, Palestinians and their supporters around the globe are also preparing for a procession—assembling the people, providing transportation, notifying the press. The march commemorates Land Day March 30, the day in 1976, when Palestinians protested Israel’s plan to confiscate Palestinians’ lands for the expansion of Israeli settlements.

Some of the history: “On 11 March, 1976, the Israeli regime published its expropriation plan to confiscate Palestinians’ lands in order to further expand their illegal settlements and build military training camps. Quite interestingly, on 29 March, they also imposed a curfew in a bid to stop Palestinians from voicing their anger over the confiscation of their lands. However, on 30 March, Palestinian activists called for protests and people took part in demonstrations. Israeli regime’s forces killed at least 6 people and wounded over 100 Palestinians. Hundreds of Palestinians were also arrested.” More….

People are coming from many countries, for a march planned to converge on Jerusalem. Organizers say they are not interested in confrontation with Israeli authorities. Organizers of this year’s march have announced a peaceful, non-violent demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinian demand for an end to Israel’s occupation of their lands and with their hope for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. “We are after all not an army, but popular peaceful international forces aiming to show solidarity with Palestine and with Jerusalem,” according to Zahir Al-Birawi, spokesman of the Global March to Jerusalem, which lists Noble Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire as advisers. Read Israeli reports on the march in the Jerusalem Post and in Israel Today magazine.

God of justice and peace, protect your people as we struggle to live our lives in safety and security. Amen.