April 1st

Your shoes are untied!
Did I make you look?
April Fools!

Although some of you may not be reading this post until April 2nd or later, for me right now the date is April 1, 2007. This day has a different significance to different people. For the secular world (especially in "The West") today is "April Fools Day". There are many theories about how April 1st came to be known as "April Fools Day". One of the most common theories takes us back to 16th Century France. Apparently, and for who knows how long, April 1 had been celebrated as New Year's Day. In 1564, King Charles IX declared that New Year's Day would be moved to January 1. As the story goes, not everyone "got the memo" that New Year's Day had been changed. And those who continued to celebrate New Year's on April 1st were dubbed "April fools". This story may or may not be completely true. But it is true that for at least a couple centuries, April 1st has been the day for telling jokes, pulling pranks, and making mischief.

April 1st itself does not have specific significance for the Church. But due to the changeable date of Easter, April 1, 2007 falls on the beginning of Holy Week--the week before Easter. The Sunday before Easter has many names: Palm Sunday, Palm/Passion Sunday, Passion/Palm Sunday, and Sunday of the Passion. For many Centuries, the Sunday before Easter was simply known as "Palm Sunday", remembering Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem as recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-40, and John 12:12-19. (Here's an interesting note: John's Gospel is the only one which specifies that the crowds took palm branches to welcome Jesus. Matthew and Mark simply mention "leafy branches" and Luke makes no mention of branches at all!)

At some point, church leaders realized that people who only attended worship on Sundays were missing out. Such worshippers went from the celebration of the Palms directly to the celebration of the Resurrection on the following Sunday, Easter. If they didn't attend worship on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, "Sunday only" folks had no worship experience centered around Christ's Passion. Thus "Sunday of the Passion" was created. Since it was not possible to put an extra Sunday in the liturgical calendar between Palm Sunday and Easter, Sunday of the Passion was originally held two weeks before Easter! Although this established a Sunday worship service to remember Christ's Passion, the timing of the commemoration didn't quite fit. So in the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1960's), Palm Sunday and Sunday of the Passion were merged into one day: hence "Palm/Passion" or "Passion/Palm" Sunday. In many churches which observe this "double Sunday", it is common to begin a Service of the Palms, followed by a Service of the Passion. Thus, those worshipers who only attend on Sunday celebrate Christ's triumphal entry and remember Chris's crucifixion all in one Sunday before celebrating the Resurrection on the following Sunday.

However you celebrate this day in whatever church you may attend, I hope that you experience the wondrous love of Jesus Christ in your life.