Palm Sunday & The Passion of Our Lord – Where Are We?
This Sunday we have one of the longest gospels of the liturgical year, which covers the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since this is liturgical year cycle “C”, we use St. Luke’s account which commences with the Journey into Jerusalem and the people were handing out palm branches to soften the road for Jesus’ triumphal journey into Jerusalem. The people were doing Jesus homage and the Pharisees were asking Jesus to quiet his followers. Jesus warned them at this point of the week that if He responds, “ I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” The crowds had worked themselves to a frenzy of excitement over the coming of the Lord into the holy city of Jerusalem.
I suppose we can recognize that, with the frenzy of victorious joy and destruction that took place when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2013. Had the San Francisco Forty- Niners won, there were plenty of police on hand to contain the excitement. That crowd wishing Jesus to be king was the beginning. Then comes the institution of the Eucharist after the procession into the Church, the betrayal of Jesus, the agony of Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives where his disciples could not stay awake while He prayed, his arrest, condemnation to death, Way of the Cross and Death and burial. It has always struck me that perhaps some of those who had wanted to make Jesus their King less than one week before were among the crowds asking for Jesus execution. Authorities who feared Jesus’ popularity and were more concerned with earthly honors condemned Jesus to death. In most depictions of the Stations of the Cross, there are crowds - until Jesus is finally stripped and nailed to the Cross and then there is Jesus and John and at most three others.
I believe that we can recognize where we are in this Passion story. We might be aware of peer pressure and respond like the crowds did, we might at times be envious of another, we might even doubt Jesus at times in our lives. Regardless, I believe that the whole range of human motivation is present in this Passion narrative. What is most noble is the enduring love of God throughout the range of human weaknesses depicted. That is what should give us hope in any circumstance, including when we are not as lovable as we would like to be.
We do not have to attend the Masses of Holy Thursday or attend worship services on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. We are like the crowds, who possess the whole range of human frailties, whether we attend or do not. I like to consider the Sacred Triduum a time for us to “stay awake in the garden with Jesus” as Jesus prepares to sacrifice His life for our chance of sharing eternity in heaven, to permit us to always have access to the Eucharist. Jesus invites us into this event. Will we follow worthily?
Fr. Mike
