Palm Sunday
Beholding our King on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the feast of the Church where we believers
greet the Lord our king, the Logos (Word)
of God made flesh. He is greeted not simply as the One who
came to us once riding on a donkey, but as the One who is always
present with us, coming to us in every celebration of the Eucharist, and
in all our prayerful moments.
We greet the One Who is present in every act of love, kindness and mercy. We greet the One Who is present in the homeless man on the street, and in the drug addict. We greet the One Who is present in the old woman who lays helpless in the nursing home, and the college student who misses her parents. We meet the One Who is from before the beginning of time, and Who was before the creation itself. We greet the One Who, as the Logos, spoke, and everything that is, came into being.
We greet the One Who comes to deliver us from our fallen nature, and make us whole. We come to greet the One Who, by His death and Holy Resurrection, frees us from the bonds of death. We come to greet He Who arrives on the colt of a donkey, the King who liberates His people from our fallen nature, restoring us to the image and likeness of Himself. On Palm Sunday we behold our King: the vanquisher of death and the giver of life.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
We greet the One Who is present in every act of love, kindness and mercy. We greet the One Who is present in the homeless man on the street, and in the drug addict. We greet the One Who is present in the old woman who lays helpless in the nursing home, and the college student who misses her parents. We meet the One Who is from before the beginning of time, and Who was before the creation itself. We greet the One Who, as the Logos, spoke, and everything that is, came into being.
We greet the One Who comes to deliver us from our fallen nature, and make us whole. We come to greet the One Who, by His death and Holy Resurrection, frees us from the bonds of death. We come to greet He Who arrives on the colt of a donkey, the King who liberates His people from our fallen nature, restoring us to the image and likeness of Himself. On Palm Sunday we behold our King: the vanquisher of death and the giver of life.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Notice: In previous postings on this blog, I wrote that the monastery is not supported by the Western American Diocese, of which we are a part. This statement was incorrect, and in fact our diocese holds a special collection each year for its two main monasteries, of which All-Merciful Saviour Monastery is one, and parishes all throughout the diocese, which are often themselves extremely poor, offer what they are able on our behalf. Additionally, the diocese has in the past offered us additional financial support in cases of extreme need, and has even this year made adjustments to its collections to help bring funds to us earlier in the year. As a monastery of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, we are grateful to the diocese, and to its parishes and many faithful who contribute to our life in this way--whose small but heartfelt contributions join with those of our many other benefactors to make our life here possible.
Sunday April 13, 2014 / March 31, 2014
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
Great Lent. Fish Allowed
Venerable Hypatius the Wonderworker, bishop of Gangra (ca. 360).
Repose of St. Jonah, metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow, and all Russia (1461).
St. Innocent of Moscow, enlightener of Alaska and Siberia (1879).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1938).
St. Hypatius the Healer of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).
Venerable Apollonius, ascetic of the Thebaid (395).
Martyrs Abdas the Bishop and Benjamin the Deacon, of Persia (424).
Venerable Hypatius, abbot of Rufinus in Chalcedon (446).
Appearance of the "Iberian" ("Iveron") Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Righteous Joseph the Fair, son of Jacob (ca. 1700 B.C.).
38 Martyrs, beheaded by the sword under Julian (361-363).
Saint Akakios the Confessor, Bishop of Meletinia (249-251).
Venerable Blaise of Amorium and Mt. Athos (908) (Greek).
Martyr Menander (Greek).
St. Stephen the Wonderworker, monk (Greek).
You can read the life of the saint by clicking on the highlighted name.
The Scripture Readings for the Day
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.John 12:1-18
The Anointing at Bethany
12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His
disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him
and that they had done these things to Him.Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.
I invite my readers to listen to my
Ancient Faith Radio podcasts:
http://ancientfaith.com/
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery is a non-profit, 501 C3 organization, under IRS regulations. All donations are therefore tax deductible. We support ourselves through the sales of Monastery Blend Coffee, our fine line of teas, and make Monastery Jams, all sold on line, and in our gift shop. We grow as many of our fruits and vegetables as we can, tend bee hives, and raise free range chickens for our eggs. With all we do to support ourselves, receiving also offerings from our diocese and parishes, we still depend on the generosity of our friends and benefactors. You can donate to the monastery through PayPal, or by sending donations directly to the monastery's mailing address.
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA
Abbot Tryphon's email address:
frtryphon@vashonmonks.com
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