Today’s liturgical celebration is called Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. With this liturgy we begin our recounting of the most monumental events in human history, the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a celebration marked by sharp contrasts. For the past five weeks we followed Jesus on his journey towards Jerusalem. Today we join the crowds who spread their cloaks on the road and scatter cut branches before Jesus as he enters the city. We wave our palm branches and sing “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Matt. 21:9). Our commemoration of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is full of hope and joy.
The tone of the celebration changes as we move into the Liturgy of the Word. Hearing from St. Matthew once again, we listen to the betrayal and desertion of Jesus by his disciples and followers. We follow Jesus from the Passover table to Gethsemane, from Gethsemane to Caiaphas the high priest, from Caiaphas to Pilate, the governor and from Pilate to Golgotha. The joyful crowd is gone now, replaced by an angry mob shouting, “Let him be crucified!” And we, like the mob, shout, “Let him be crucified! Crucify him!
How many times have we betrayed or abandoned Jesus? How many times has our “faith been shaken” by events or the cruel and unfair actions of other people? How many times have we cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”? During this next week, Holy Week, we all have an opportunity to unite our hearts, our sadness and our suffering with Jesus. We can renew our commitment to service in the washing of feet and celebrate the last supper on Holy Thursday. We can walk with Jesus towards his crucifixion and death by participating in the Station of the Cross and the Good Friday Liturgy. Finally, we can celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, renewing our baptismal promises, our faith and our spirit of hope and joy.
God our Father,
in the passion and death of Jesus, your Son,
you make us aware
of how deeply you love us.
Make us also conscious of how evil sin is
and help us to keep believing in your love
when we have to bear the cross of suffering.
For after the cross follows the resurrection,
for Jesus and for us.
Give us this firm faith
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
