Palm Sunday

When you come into the sanctuary of Monetecito Covenant Church on Sunday, April 9th you will see palm branches just about everywhere. Why? Why palms? Why not pine branches or maple leaves or roses? What's the deal with palms?
Palms are for parades...really old and special parades. On this Sunday we celebrate a parade of one. Jesus was a one-person parade into Jerusalem. Many people came out to greet him; with palms. Because most of them were very poor, and palms grew around Jerusalem as much as around Santa Barbara, they were basically brush to be thrown away. You could look on the side of most roads and see palm branches. But palms, beyond being cheap, sent a special Jewish signal: of victory. Over 150 years before Jesus' day, the Jersualem Jews revolted against people who did terrible things in the Temple. The guy who led the revolt was Judas Maccabaeus. And on that victory day (read; parade) everyone waved palms. That day is now the Jewish holiday of Hannukah. Palms were waved for victory over enemies. The people waved those palms because they thought Jesus was bringing a victory over the Roman government like Judas Maccabaeus did.
But Jesus' parade was about a different kind of victory....over sin, death and all the forces of evil. Wave those palms! Jesus won the battle!