Palm Sunday 2018
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday (“B”) – March 25, 2018
The Gospel story, told by St. Mark, tells us the story of Jesus, the just man, of His life journey and its culmination in arrest, unjust condemnation and death on a cross. Today we hear that story told again and we witness the injustice of it, the unfairness of it and the cruelty of it. The man who lived in the daylight is arrested in the dark. The man who spoke openly sees His words twisted and used against Him. The man who honored every person He met is brutally treated and taken out to die.
We tell this story and continue to tell is because it is the story of every person in this world. It is the story of the just person who seeks to live an honorable life, who meets with suffering and with cruelty, with injustice and with flawed societies. It is the story of how the just person perseveres in goodness despite all setbacks and opposition, and seeks the face of God. This is how life is in a fallen world. The forces of darkness are very real. The darkened sky over Calvary, where Jesus died, tells us to prepare ourselves for
Palm Sunday (“B”) – March 25, 2018 Read More »
Palm Sunday (C) – March 20, 2016
In St. Luke’s passion, we hear Christ first speaking to His disciples at the Last Supper. He wants to teach them the meaning of the death He is about to undergo. He gives them His body and blood as an act of sacrifice, but this is not what they are seeing. They are arguing about status and who is the greatest among them. Jesus tells them they are not to imitate the ways of the world, where dominating power is the prize. Among His disciples the one who serves is the greatest. But His teaching is hard. Jesus is faithful to His word and suffers the judgment of the world. He is condemned to the horrible death of crucifixion. He is stripped naked and nailed to the wood of the cross between two criminals. As His enemies insult Him He puts His teaching into practice and asks His Father to forgive them.
As He hangs dying, weak and vulnerable, one criminal ridicules Him but the other turns to Him, asking to be saved: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” He has seen in the face of Christ the saving power of God and finds redemption: “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”
Today we have welcomed Christ to Jerusalem; when we adore and worship Christ this Good Friday, we will be able to reaffirm our faith, as His disciples, that it is by His holy cross that He has redeemed the world.
Palm Sunday (C) – March 20, 2016 Read More »
Palm Sunday – “B” – March 29, 2015
As we read the account of the passion of Jesus from St. Mark’s Gospel today, we move with Jesus through the events of that first Holy Week. Against the background of plotting betrayal, Jesus accepts the loving tenderness of one who prophetically anoints Him in preparation for His burial. He shares His last Passover meal with the disciples, again prophetically acting out His approaching death in the sacrament of His body and blood, and, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus goes through an agony of anticipation, freely accepting the will of His Father, which lead to His arrest and condemnation.
How can we effectively take part in the commemoration of the passion and death of the Lord this week? If we truly to experience the transforming power of the resurrection when we celebrate Easter next Sunday, we’re called to take part as fully as we can in the liturgical actions of this week, reminding ourselves that we are all called to be disciples, to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Palm Sunday – “B” – March 29, 2015 Read More »
Palm Sunday – “A” – April 13, 2014
Today we are being first-hand witnesses to the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we are being called to watch closely as Jesus undergoes and endures the journey to Calvary. Today we are being asked to decide whether to stay close and walk with Jesus. On the first Good Friday, all of Jesus’ disciples left Him at various times along the route. Today we are asked to make the decision: to stay by the Lord, or to do as the first disciples did and desert Him. The choice is ours. If we choose to stay close to the Lord and walk by His side, then as Jesus takes each step, the horror of what is happening and what is ultimately going to happen becomes clearer and clearer. Everyone has gone, and it seems that even God the Father is gone.
As disciples of the Lord in this present day there is much to do and to learn if we are to be effective witnesses to the glory of Jesus Christ. There are two men who walked with Jesus in His daily life and who were there with the Lord as He was arrested. The two men are Peter and Judas. We can learn important lessons from these two disciples.
First let us look at Judas and see what we can learn from him. There are many theories about the why and wherefore of Judas, but this is not the place to discuss them. The facts from the scriptures suffice, and they are that Judas betrayed Jesus, and then killed himself when he realized what was actually happening to Jesus. Then there is Peter, who in essence did virtually the same thing as Judas. He betrayed any knowledge of the Lord, and when the cock crowed Peter realized what was happening, then left and wept bitterly. He went away and wept, full of shame.
Even if we desert the Lord and run away, He will always be longing to welcome us back.
Palm Sunday – “A” – April 13, 2014 Read More »