The crowds who has heard of Lazarus being raised from the dead turned out to see the One Who had raised him when He made His entry into Jerusalem. They greeted Him as they would a king, with palm branches, symbols of victory, and cries of, “Hosanna!” which, put another way, would be a cry of, “Save us!” Indeed, it was for this purpose that He had come. Their prayer for deliverance would be answered at the end of that very week; but before He had accomplished His mission on our behalf, many of those who had greeted Him with joy when He entered were in the crowd that shouted out, “Crucify Him!” What brought about this change of heart?
The question is a significant one; something each of us who stands here today holding a palm branch should ask; for we have joined them today in calling out to our Lord Jesus Christ, “Hosanna!” But when we go forth from here, back into the world, back into the demands that all the aspects of life in the world place upon us, do we, because of our sins, in effect cry out, “Crucify Him?”
Many of the people who greeted our Lord this day where hoping that a king from the royal house of King David would come to set them free – and, indeed, such a King had come. But they were looking for Him to establish an earthly kingdom. They were looking for a King who would lead them in battle against those who oppressed them, to cast out the Roman Empire from the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were looking for a kingdom of peace and prosperity – but they could only envision that kingdom on earth. Our Lord Jesus had come to establish His kingdom; but as He will tell Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world. Our Lord Jesus had come to lead us in battle against those who oppress us, but this was not a war against an earthly nation, but rather a battle against the demons. He came, not to cast out an earthly empire, but to lead us, a new Moses, from this world in which we are the slaves of our passions to the land of peace and prosperity God has promised to us – to dwell once more in His intimate presence in His heavenly kingdom.
They were looking for heaven on earth; and when they did not see it, many turned against Him. We, also, live in a time and culture that is seeking heaven on earth: in effect, a heaven without God, in which we are the masters, and answer to no one. This is what Lucifer, the highest of the angelic beings, sought to achieve: to overthrow God, and take His place as Lord of all. So it is, brothers and sisters, that we must examine ourselves, and guard our hearts, and with every part of our being, with every bit of our energy, we must embrace the Orthodox faith and the way of life we learn from the Church, so that we will not be deceived; so that we will not be distracted from the pursuit of heaven; and so that we will not turn our cries of “Hosanna!” into shouts of “Crucify Him!”
May God, in His mercy, give us the strength to endure, that we may remain faithful servants of His, so that He may be glorified, and we may be saved.
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