These palm branches remind us who we are -- sinners in need of our Lord's grace, and what we can be -- sinners who have placed our lives in the hands of our loving God.

 

Palm Sunday  C  2022

 

Today begins the most sacred week of the Church’s entire liturgical year.   We   will walk with Jesus through Holy Week in the pattern of his death and resurrection.  The week we call holy invites us to enter into the heart of our faith. 

 

St Paul in the second Scripture reading reveals who Jesus is: “Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality to God something to be grasped, rather he emptied himself taking the form of a slave…he humbled himself.”

 

Who are we as the disciples of Jesus?  Our God wants us to embody the humble actions of Jesus:  The God who emptied himself, the God who humbled himself, the God who sat on a donkey.

 

On Palm Sunday the church gives us the opportunity to hear two Gospels. The first one was proclaimed at the beginning of the liturgy from the back of our church; the second was proclaimed at its normal time. One of the gospels depicts a triumphal march into Jerusalem. The other on a painful, humanly agonizing and struggling march leading to a death. A high and a low. But, which one is which.

 

Our world would assert that the glorious entry into Jerusalem was the high point and that the death of Jesus on the cross was the low point. Our faith proclaims that just the opposite is true.

 

During the two Gospels that make the Palm Sunday liturgy, we go from the joy of a good parade on Palm Sunday to a parade that ends with the suffering and death of Jesus on Good Friday.  The incredible contrast in moods between the two Gospels proclaimed in this Sunday’s liturgy capture well the broad dynamic of the Paschal Mystery.  The opening Gospel proclaimed in the blessing of the palms is the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the disciples shouting Hosanna and placing palm branches along the route

 

The second Gospel proclaimed is the Passion Account of the suffering and death of Jesus.  Before this week is ended, the palm branches of Palm Sunday will be replaced by the thorns and nails of the Friday we call “Good.”  Shouts of “Alleluia” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” will be drowned out by the mocking sneers and cries of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

 

 

 

Traditionally during Holy Week, we focus on the sufferings of Jesus.  But it is not suffering, not even the sufferings of Jesus, that makes this week holy.  Rather it is holy because of love -- the reconciling love of God who has come to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ.   God’s love is the only thing that makes sense out of suffering, conflict, and tragedy.  God’s love does not do away with suffering; the very fact of the cross should teach us that.  God’s love makes it possible to deal with suffering, to remember it, to share in it, and, yes, even to celebrate it.  God’s love is the essence of the story of salvation.

 

In the passion account, Jesus looks like a victim.  He is not triumphant as we understand triumph.  Instead he appears to be a failure.  Judging by one set of standards, Jesus has not met our expectations.  But according to another standard – the standard of unconditional love –he has far surpassed our expectations.   At once regal and lowly, he brought healing and holiness to others through his own pain and brokenness.  He would claim victory by being defeated; he would establish his reign by serving and by dying.  His crown would be a weave of thorns.

 

As we gather in prayer on this day, may we be very conscious that Palm Sunday is not about ancient history.  It is about NOW.  As we reflect upon the Passion account, we see the first apostles, despite their closeness to Jesus, do not stand by Him in His suffering. 

 

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with palm branches being spread on the road. When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil: “Who is this?” people asked.  In Jesus, God is the one who identifies with and enters into the experience of the people He loves.  Today God is sending a message through Jesus in this Palm Sunday celebration that states that Jesus once again accompanies us in these days.  God wishes to be in solidarity with us.  All of life is so precious that God wishes to be in solidarity with us.  God will embrace and transform our sufferings so that we may enter more fully into the risen life of Jesus.

 

Morning after morning in these days of Holy Week, we strive to accompany Jesus, present here and now in this community of believers and especially in those who suffer, as he continues his journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem through a world that sometimes cries Hosanna, but often, also, Crucify!  As disciples in every age, we resolve to be ready to suffer with our Master, carrying the cross in union with Him, freely laying down our lives in selfless service, trusting as did Jesus that, despite appearances to the contrary, God’s steadfast love will not abandon us but lead us safely to eternal life.

 

As we listen to the account of the passion and death of Jesus, may we be immersed in the immensity of God’s love for us.  May we also listen to the challenge that is given to us throughout the entire passion narrative:  As the master goes, so goes the disciple.

 

Take the palm branches with you today; let them be a reminder that we are entering the holiest week of the year. The week that begins with the false triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with the true triumph over death and the cross. These palms challenge us to remember our role in our Lord’s passion – that those great sufferings endured by our Lord were endured for each of us.

 

These palms can stay with us, calling us to not forget who we are – sinners in need of our Lord’s grace, and what we can be – sinners who have placed our lives in the hands of our loving God.

 

Have a blessed day.