Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 28, 2010 - Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
[Luke 19:28-40 and Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14 - 23:56]As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest." (Processional gospel - Luke) The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. [Isaiah] He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a crossl Because of this God highly exalted him. [Philippians] Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
The journey into Jerusalem on the back of the colt with a multitude of disciples crying aloud is but one of the many rich images that begin Holy Week for us and challenge us to enter the drama as participants. Today we will process with palm branches in hand to commemorate the "triumphal" entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Knowing what we know about the eventual outcome of the drama, are our faces "set like flint, knowing that we shall not be put to shame?" Are we prepared to become "obedient to to point of death, even death on a cross?" Are we ready to commend our spirit into the hands of the Father? The "triumph" of the ride into town ends with carrying a cross out of town to Calvary! The Passion According to Luke represents the end of a long journey (cf. Luke 9:51). We are told that he "set his face resolutely" to go to Jerusalem. Holy Week, beginning today, offers us the opportunity to make a pilgrimage with Jesus to Jerusalem. We can walk alongside him as he rides into the city, lives his last days, eats the last supper with us, his disciples, is arrested, crucified, shows us an empty tomb and appears to us on the road to Emmaus! Physically we don't have to go very far - no further than our bible or the nearest Catholic church! Spiritually, the journey is immense because of its emotional claim on our sensitivities and love for the One who loves us first! The entry into Jerusalem is just the first leg of the trip. We need to get moving! AMEN