Homily: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion – Cycle B
Friends,
as we have heard again the reading of the Passion of the Lord, we are
confronted again with the question: How could the people who acclaimed Jesus as
king on Palm Sunday, then condemn him to a violent death on Friday? I won’t attempt to answer that question
completely, but I do think that there are two ways that we can reflect
fruitfully on this question.
The
first way is to recognize that the capacity to turn radically against our Lord
is something that each of us possesses.
Think not? Just look at Jesus’
closest disciples in the narrative that we just read. As Jesus predicted, each of them abandoned
him when he was arrested. Peter even
denied him outright. They did not go so
far as to condemn him, of course, but the fact that Jesus’ closest friends
chose to abandon him rather than come to his defense should be a sign to each
of us that the capacity to turn from “follower” to “persecutor” exists in each
of us. Truly, this is the work that we
have been doing during Lent: examining ourselves to identify the ways in which
we still turn from Jesus so as to repent and be renewed in his friendship.
The
second way to reflect on this question is to recognize that in this situation
we are not talking about the same people in each instance. Rather, we are talking about two groups of
people: those who acclaimed Jesus and those who condemned him. The first are those who acclaimed Jesus as
king in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, while the second resented their
acclamations and later that week joined the conspiracy to condemn Jesus. When this happened, the first group stood by
stunned, not knowing what to do. Doesn’t
this sound much more like our life today?
On almost any issue, there are people who support and champion a
particular side as well as people who reject and resist it. Here in the United States, the Democrats and
Republicans in our government model this for us daily.
I
believe that this second way is important because it reminds us that, in this
world, there will always be, to greater and lesser degrees, those who acclaim
Jesus as king and those who would condemn him to death all over again. It is important to remember this because it
reminds us that our work of evangelization is never over. We must always give witness to what we
believe and invite those around us to recognize Jesus as their king, too. This has caused and will always cause
suffering for Jesus’ disciples, which is why Jesus himself suffered: to model
for us the self-emptying that would be demanded of those who would be citizens
of his kingdom.
Thus,
each year we solemnly recall Jesus’ passion.
We do this so as to make it present again to us. Like all of the great mysteries of our
salvation, Jesus’ passion is not something that happened in the past and has
ended. Rather, it is something that is
continually happening in his Body, the Church.
Therefore, we enter into his passion this week in order to be reminded
that Christ’s passion enters into our passions, wherever and whenever we suffer
them. In other words, the solemn
remembrance of Jesus’ passion reminds us that, in our sufferings, Jesus’
suffering is there with us so as to remind us that, as the Father glorified
Jesus for his obedience, so too will each of us be glorified after the
sufferings that we endure for being his disciples. Perhaps more plainly: Jesus’ passion reminds
us that God has not promised us a life without
suffering, but rather that he has promised us an exalted life after suffering.
Friends,
this great week is about making present again the mysteries of our salvation
and this should lead us to joyful praise!
It should also lead us to be so fully immersed in Christ's passion that
we are strengthened to bear the sufferings of our own lives with hope of the
exalted life to come. And so, this week,
let us strive to see in our sufferings the sufferings of Christ and, thus,
decide to unite ourselves to him in his passion (which is always with us); so
that, on Easter Sunday, we may rejoice to know the glory to which our
sufferings are leading us: the glory of the new life we have received in
Jesus—the glory that we encounter now, here in this Eucharist.
Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN –
March 24th, 2024
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