On Palm Sunday a few years ago a young family came out of church and were on their way home via the newsagents. The little four year old girl was dancing along in front of her parents carrying the palms and singing at the top of her voice: “Hosanna to the Son of David”. Reaching the newsagents she led the small procession in and seeing a young man standing waiting to buy his paper, ran up to him, held up the palms as near his face as she could get and chanted her refrain. The poor lad did not know what had hit him! They then went home and as soon as she got into the house the child sat herself at the table and said “Show me how to make the cross.”

 

The palm and the cross are so close- in Jesus’ life just a week between the two. The switch from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him” in such a short time is frightening; this is fickleness, not a pleasant word but we are all capable of it.

Two weeks ago there was a reading at Mass from the prophet Hosea: Through him God is lamenting the fickleness of his own people:

“What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I to do with you, Juda?
This love of yours is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that quickly disappears.”

Was Jesus remembering these words as the crowd yelled “Crucify him!”?

Welcome - Rejection
Support - Betrayal
Joy - Sorrow
Palms - Hyssop stick
Procession - Way of the Cross
Donkey - Cross

But not Life - Death because in that very death there was the triumph of Love and, therefore, of Life.

The Palm and the Cross are both signs of Victory - let us hold both high with pride and love.

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