Word to the Wise
Sunday, April 5, 2009 - Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
[Mass: Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1 - 15:47 and Procession: Mark 11:1-10]I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. [from Isaiah] Christ Jesus, thought he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and foundnuman in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [from Philippians]
Today, from the moment we accept a piece of blessed palm, we become part of the journey of Jesus to the cross. Whether or not we pay attention to the "stations" or not is irrelevant. In fact, we don't even need to have a palm branch in our hands. Because we are Christian, we are part of Christ and we go with him wherever he goes. Today he goes into Jerusalem and this entrance into the Holy City is triumphant today but the journey will soon turn somber and then very ugly until it ends in glory once more. There are no detours or short cuts. We cannot be detached observers of a ritual re-enactment. We have been baptized into Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Therefore the events of today and the rest of tis sacred week are not just Jesus' story but ours as well. The words of Isaiah and Paul can echo in our hearts and minds, but we must find our own words as well - spoken and unspoken. We will share the words of scripture and the rituals of the Church but our task is greater than that. It is none other than to be transformed by the journey of these days from suffering to glory. The branch of palm we accept today is our badge but, like the ashes on Ash Wednesday, it is a symbol designed to remind us of what we have yet to do! Accept it and join the crowd! Hosanna to the Son of David! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
73 ms
4
