St Nicholas Orthodox Church Southbridge Massachusetts

04 28 2024 Palm Sunday - Divine Liturgy St Nicholas Southbridge

The Feast of Palms, which includes both Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, presents us with the raising of a man four days dead and the response of the Temple leadership. Rather than rejoice in such a great miracle, the leaders determine that both Jesus and Lazarus must be destroyed, not because they disbelieved in the miracle but because they feared what might happen as a result. Jesus failed to be the sort of Messiah the religious leaders anticipated, but He certainly fit the Roman definition of a seditious troublemaker. The authorities' fear of Roman power was greater than their fear of God. Fear of what the world can do to us is often greater than eternal concerns. In this, they were very little different from the frightened leaders and confused people of our own times.

Link to today’s Liturgy: https://youtu.be/uD6LlSW7ZNc