PALM Sunday, the gospels indicate was when the Messiah was said to have entered Jerusalem on a donkey. What Catholicism and other non denominational Christians believe is that this day when the Lord was met with hosannas by the crowd was the ordained time of the Passover.
For starters, the Feast of Passover or Pesach is celebrated in response to a divine ordinance commemorating the sacrifices of a lamb without blemish had and its blood painted on the door posts of their houses which would distinguish a covenant people from a people strange to the said covenant. To make a long and interesting biblical story short in a sports column, Passover celebrates the supernatural deliverance of the Hebrew people from centuries of Egyptian slavery – not by their strength but by the mighty hand of the Almighty God demonstrating a series of awesome signs and wonders. Perhaps, we are likely to remember the parting of Red Sea as part of this story.
A specific date was given for the celebration of Passover – the 15th day of the first month. The months of January, February and the other months we are familiar with did not exist until Pope Gregory introduced the months in 1852. Thus, there was no January of the Gregorian calendar which in our understanding is the first month of the year during the times of the ancient patriarchs.
It is safe to assume that the Creator himself ordained the times. This was clearly based on a measurement of full moon sightings. In an instruction to Moses (who spoke with Creator face to face), the first month was named Nisan and on the 15th day of first month was the Passover. Passover was to be the day of great deliverance and for thousands of years, the descendants of the ancient Hebrews have been faithfully observing the proper time.
Importantly, every male Jew is instructed by the God of the prophet Moses to pilgrimage in Jerusalem to commemorate Passover every year. As a matter of fact, there are other feasts of similar significance where attendance is commanded but we’ll stick with Pesach.
Obedient to the divine instruction concerning Passover, the one we know as Jesus (who is a Jew, not a Roman or Italian) and whose real name is Yahshua visited Jerusalem, choosing to ride on a donkey. I would assume that by calling the Christ, Yahshua we are referring to the same Jesus whom Catholics and Christians (regardless of denomination) revere and accept as the Son of the Living God.
Now my point from this sport column on this season of the Catholic Lent. I saw my friends off when they went to celebrate Palm Sunday. Today is Tuesday. Last Sunday was March 20. This would mean that by the Catholic count, the Messiah’s crucifixion will be remembered this Friday, 25 March and the resurrection of the Christ (Easter) will be celebrated on 27 March. Is this truth or religion?
For biblical truth (not mine but the Divine’s) if the original timings before the Gregorian calendar are to be freely and faithfully observed (as Jews still do although not all of them embrace the Yahshua as Messiah), the crucifixion of the Jesus, the Lamb of God should be celebrated on the 15th of Nisan. In the Divine’s mind, the prophetic imagery is unmistakable. The parallelisms are astounding. The lamb that was sacrificed by the Hebrews (as instructed by Moses) thousands of years before the Messiah appeared was a foreshadow of the Lamb of God’s sacrifice on the cross - accurate to the day, the hour and the minute.
The day when the lamb was slain in Egypt for the deliverance from bondage was the same day when Yahshua, the Lamb of God would be slain for a deliverance of a greater kind. Passover was the day the God of heaven and earth ordained and is still the same day the heavens recognize.
In closing, this is my simple take of this truth in the same context one Manny Pacquiao said - not his but the Divine’s. In this same breadth, I also write, not mine but the clearly the Divine’s by words written in the beginning and translated for our understanding. If we were to commemorate the Messiah’s death truthfully, 22 April is the Passover.
The magisterium must have a good reason for March 25, which we celebrate as Good Friday but from the simple letters of the Holy Writ written from eternity for today, I find it hard to complicate. We do not need another untruth. The Catholic and Christian death and resurrection celebrates a month too early from the meaningful days. And may I say - to celebrate a meaningful day out of time takes the meaning out of the day. The meaning could be a greater deliverance to those who believe simple instructions.
Did the Lord not say, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free?” Yes, Francis, the Lord did but why out of time?