Cycle A Passion (Palm) Sunday
16 March 2008
From Joy to Death
Matthew 23: 1-11 (Entry).
Zechariah’s prophecy is fulfilled. It’s a great day for Jesus and the twelve as they enter Jerusalem in triumphal glory.
Isaiah 50: 4-7.
The Servant of the Lord speaks for God and suffers for what he says. Jesus is foreseen in the Servant’s suffering.
Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24.
The psalmist relied on the Lord but now he feels abandoned by God.
Philippians 2: 6-11.
Jesus humbled himself. He became human, suffered and died. But because of his humility and obedience and trust in God, Christ was glorified and triumphed in the end.
Matthew 26:14-27:66.
Jesus’ Passion = betrayal, denial, death and burial.
Our Liturgy today presents us with a mighty change of emotions. We begin with our extra Gospel reading today that tells us about the exciting and joyful entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Then we quickly move to the rest of the readings and our mood drastically changes. Our liturgy of the Word ends with the sad and defeating account of Jesus’ death and burial outside of Jerusalem.
Do you remember way back to the first Sunday in Lent. Our very first reading this Lent was about Adam and Eve. They were in a garden and were trying to make a decision. God told them not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in the garden. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent told them that if they ate from this tree they would be like God. They would be equal to God. So Adam and Eve made their decision. They were not obedient to God. They embraced the tree expecting to get a life equal to God. Instead they received death.
Today in our very last reading for this Lent we hear of Jesus. He is also in a garden called Gethsemane. He is also making a decision about a tree – the tree of death, the Roman cross. MATTHEW tells us that Jesus is very distressed. He doesn’t want to go through this suffering. He doesn’t want to die. Jesus prays and asks God for a way around this suffering and dying. And then he makes his decision. Jesus renews his commitment to God. He expects death and the end of his mission but if this is what God wants, he is willing to go all the way with his commitment. He will obey God. He will trust God.
The twelve are confused and scared by this turn of events. Why is Jesus doing this? Why doesn’t he fight back? Judas betrays him. Peter denies knowing him. The others go into hiding. It looks like ISAIAH’S PROPHECY is being fulfilled. The Servant who spoke for God is suffering for his faithfulness and reliance on God. Jesus’ exciting mission is coming to an end. It looks like it’s all over.
Our response psalm – PSALM 22 – sums it all up. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned us?” Is this it? Is this how it all ends?
Paul’s letter to the PHILIPPIANS gives us a hint. Jesus’ integrity, his humility, his obedience and especially his trust in God bring Spirit-filled life. But we will have to wait until next week to get the rest of the story. And it’s this waiting that is always the hardest, isn’t it?
The blessed palms you receive today are Sacramentals. They can remind you of how quickly our lives can change. How quickly our emotions change when we are faced with crises. A spouse or child or friend has an accident and is in critical condition. We have a pain, a test for cancer is required and now we’re waiting for the results. A teenage daughter or sister didn’t come home last night. Is she in trouble? Did she run away? Where is she? We just don’t know, we have to wait for answers. And it’s this waiting that is always the hardest, isn’t it?
Bad things happen in life even to good people. It’s easy to feel abandoned by God. But what you do makes all the difference. You can say the heck with God like Judas. You can deny it’s all happening like Peter. You can try to run away from it like the rest of the disciples.
It seems the best choice might be to trust in God, stay committed to your relationships and wait it out like Jesus did. It’s in this suffering pain and waiting that new Spirit-filled life is born.
I invite you to come to all the services this Holy Week. They are some of the most creative liturgies of our Church year. You will relive the whole Jesus story. His complete commitment to God and to us in love is truly awesome.
Think about it, pray about it.
NOTE:
To read the Sunday readings on line for Passion (Palm) Sunday click on the following link - or copy it to your browser's address bar.
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031608.shtml
To listen to the readings on line go to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' podcast. To get there click the following link - or copy it to your browser's address bar. You will need to scroll down on the right side of the window to find the correct date.
http://www.podcastalley.com/player/player.php?pod_id=43329
