In Bible times, palm branches were symbols of joy and peace, of victory and triumph. As such, they were used for festivals, for making booths during the week-long feast of tabernacles.
There was a special time when God's people used palm branches to express jou. You know the story -- how Jesus' friends welcomed Him to Jerusalem as the mEssuah by singing and spreading palm branches along the road. The occasion was Palm Sunday, a day we Christians still observe today.
Palm branches symbolize the victory of Christians through their faith in Jesus Christ, the risen one. St. John writes, "Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4) The same apostle describes this triumph of Christians in a heavenly tableau scene in which he shows us "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands" (Rev 7:9)
Palm trees, with there fruit (dates) and foliage, typify what Christians can do to give honor to Christ and to serve Him -- serve Him by serving His brothers and sisters with the fruits of their faith. They can rejoice and sing. They can hold up palm branches as tokens of their victory in Jesus Christ, who by His self-sacrifice on a cross and His rising from the tomb fulfilled all things necessary for their salvation.
Every time we see a palm, let us remember the victory that Christ has won for us.
God bless you all,
Matt
