Palm Sunday of the Lord
My dear parishioners,
God is Good!!! All the time!!! And all the time!!! God is Good!!!
The oracles in this second half of the Book of Isaiah, attest to the “well-trained tongue” of this prophet. With lofty images and repeated words of comfort, the prophet rouses a people weary from years of exile in Babylon. They languish in a foreign land, imagining God has forgotten them entirely. But God is faithful to the promises of old, and invites them to return to their homeland. God is doing something new for the people, something that will eclipse even the exodus from Egypt, the most memorable of God’s acts of deliverance.
Today the Church enters into the celebration of Passion week. It begins by commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem—where he will be arrested, put on trial, flogged, crucified, and killed. The liturgy includes two Gospel readings: the first describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, while the second is a proclamation of the entire Passion narrative from Matthew’s Gospel.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. For Matthew, every important aspect of the life and ministry of Jesus is seen as fulfilling the Scriptures. Jesus’ grand entry into Jerusalem is understood to be the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is he, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus is this meek and humble king referred to by Zechariah. From beginning to end, Jesus is in control of all the events surrounding him. Jesus is lord and the son of David as affirmed by Psalm 118:25-26. This is not how a typical king enters a city, but Jesus is not a typical king. His kingship does not rest on power but on faith. This faith made the whole city shake when Jesus entered.
The drama of Jesus’ passion. Matthew’s version of the Passion narrative is based on that of Mark. From the beginning, this narrative was told and retold because it contains the very heart of the Christian message: the saving activity of Jesus carried out through his suffering, death, and resurrection. Matthew makes no attempt to write history. If anything, this is a Passion play in six major scenes: 1) Jesus shares a final Passover meal with his disciples wherein he institutes the Eucharist; 2) the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus is betrayed and handed over to his enemies; 3) the trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin; 4) the trial before Pilate; 5) crucifixion and death; 6) the guarding of the tomb.
Divine irony. Jesus is rejected by the very people he came to save. He is betrayed and denied by two of his own handpicked apostles. He is killed as an insurrectionist, but he is really a king. His saving power is activated through his death.
Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Aloysius