BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH UNTO THEE

A REFLECTION FOR PALM SUNDAY

We wear our purple vestments today and we mourn what is to come, even as our ears ring with the cries of “Hosanna to Son of David!”  For “verily, verily,” our Lord warned us, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  We look around us at the world.  Many claim to love God, many profess their faith that Christ is indeed the Son of God.  And yet, do they do the will of our Father which is in heaven?  Do they obey Christ’s wishes that there is but one fold and one Shepherd, one faith and one baptism, one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church?  Or do they establish their own churches with their own beliefs?  Do they follow the ten commandments, or only the ones they find convenient?  “I’m a good person,” they proudly proclaim, “I hardly ever sin—only when I’m tempted!”  And do they think they’re doing the will of their Father in heaven when they refuse to acknowledge that the Holy Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ, despite our blessed Lord’s unequivocal declaration that it is so, when they refuse to obey his commandment to eat his Body and drink his Blood?
 
Among the dreadful and blasphemous Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, all those good, God-fearing Episcopalians, there is an admonition that “The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance to be reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.”  They believe, supposedly, that Christ is somehow “present” in the bread and wine, and yet, even though he is present, we must not worship him.  They’re ready to shout out “Behold thy King cometh unto thee,” at their eucharistic services.  But do not spread your garments in the way as he is carried about in the monstrance, do not cut down branches from the trees and straw them in the way, as the priest walks by under the ombrellino.  Do not cry out Hosanna to the Son of David.
 
True Christians, those who do the will of God, will shout out our Hosannas.  We will visit our Lord in the tabernacle when we’re able.  We kneel before him and worship him in the monstrance at Benediction.  We carry him in procession, with bells ringing and the glorious scent of incense rising to heaven in prayer.  For “Behold, thy King cometh.”
 
He cometh to us today, meekly, in Holy Communion.  And he sees our hearts as we, in turn, come to him, also in Holy Communion.  He knows the state of our soul, and will come again in glory to judge that soul.  And we in turn will, like him, make our grand entrance into the Holy City.  On that day, there will be no crowds cheering us on—only the Judge sitting, waiting for us on his Judgment Seat.  When we see him, we’ll know our fate instantly.  Will Christ our King appear before us as the Good Shepherd, happy to receive us into his kingdom?  Or will his crown be one of thorns as his tearful visage betrays the sorrow we have caused him by our sins?  Worse yet, will he be wielding in his right hand that terrible swift sword with which he will unleash on us the fateful lightning of eternal damnation?  We can avoid this!  It doesn’t have to be!  We just have to try, try as hard as we can, constantly, to do the will of our Father in heaven, to keep his commandments, to know, love and serve him, that our Hosannas may ring out with those of the angels above, so that, at the hour of our death, we may come to him, blessed, in the name of the Lord.