Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

My dear parishioners,

God is Good!!!  All the time!!!  And all the time!!!  God is Good!!!

A prominent feature in this second portion of Isaiah’s book is the introduction of the suffering servant. This figure is to bring welcome relief from all the prideful figures who dominated the first part of the book. Kings such as Ahaz and Hezekiah have failed to display faith in the God of Israel. Instead, they turned to unreliable sources for security. As a consequence, the kingdom collapses. But now there is promise of restoration. The loss of the kingdom, together with years of exile, has brought about a transformation within Israel. An ideal Israel is now ready to put God’s ways first.

Today begins the most sacred week of the Church’s entire liturgical year. The week begins symbolically with Jesus concluding his lengthy journey from Galilee to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51—19:40). It was necessary for Jesus to get to Jerusalem in order to fulfill his divine prophetic mission, achieved through his suffering, death, and resurrection. There are two Gospel passages for today’s liturgy. The first highlights Jesus’ royal entry into Jerusalem. The second is Luke’s story of Jesus’ suffering and death. The liturgy for Palm Sunday focuses primarily on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; this sets the tone for the entire week.

The long and final journey. Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem takes up one chapter in Mark’s Gospel. Luke expands that journey to 10 chapters. Much of the journey is taken up with Jesus teaching his disciples about the real meaning of discipleship. This journey is understood by Luke to be of divine necessity. It is necessary that Jesus follow in the footsteps of the prophets who went before him.

Jesus the prophet. At this point the disciples are portrayed as obedient, dedicated, and joyfully committed to Jesus. That will diminish later on. Jesus gives detailed instructions on how he will enter Jerusalem, riding on a colt. This colt fulfills the prophesy of Zechariah 9:9. The disciples found everything ready just as Jesus had predicted. All of this carefully fits Luke’s portrayal of Jesus as God’s innocent prophet.

Jesus the king. Once Jesus mounts the colt and proceeds to enter Jerusalem, the people are portrayed as acclaiming Jesus to be king. They treat him as royalty, spreading their cloaks before him and applying to him Psalm 118:26, which begins, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Pharisees see the dangerous potential here, understanding that the Romans might think all this is a reference to a secular king opposed to the Roman emperor. The people’s acclamation is, in fact, misplaced. Jesus is not yet a king. Rather, he is in the midst of his divine journey that will take him to the cross—from which he will emerge as a completely new kind of king exercising royal authority.

Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius