Palm Sunday (Fr. Vinner)

My sisters and brothers in the Lord,

The Church celebrates this sixth Sunday of Lent as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. This is the time of year we stop to remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation. What we commemorate and relive during this week is not just Jesus’ dying and rising, but our own dying and rising in Him, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption. Attentive participation in the Holy Week liturgy will deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus. Today’s liturgy combines contrasting moments, one of glory, the other of suffering: the royal welcome of Jesus in Jerusalem and the drama of His trial, culminating in His crucifixion, death and burial.

“Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.” These words from the account of the Passion of Jesus Christ according to Matthew are so strong. The Passion ends with death and darkness and the disciples in total confusion. Palm Sunday always gives us the story of the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus. Still we must listen to the other readings. Isaiah tell us today that the Prophets could see this death but also could see the Messiah with these words: “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.” Jesus knows the Prophet Isaiah and lives out these words. Jesus is able to embrace suffering and death with a confidence that God Himself, God the Father, will not let Him be put to shame, but will vindicate Him. Jesus’ confidence in the Father was surely tested in the last hours of His life, but Jesus clings to His Father.

Jokes of the week: 1) Little Johnny was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from Church with his mother. His father returned from Church holding a palm branch. The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?” His father explained, “You see, When Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to honor Him; so we got palm branches today.” “Aw, shucks,” grumbled Little Johnny. “The one Sunday I can’t go to Church, and Jesus shows up!”

The second reading, from the Letter to the Philippians, also speaks of the plans of the Father for Jesus: “Jesus humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus dies for us. In the midst of incredible sufferings, Jesus clings to His love for all people and clings to His will to save all. We who suffer smaller pains in this life often find it difficult to offer our sufferings for anyone. And so we come to the Passion once more. We can listen to the struggle of Jesus and the struggle of His followers. All of them knew the Scriptures, but only Jesus had a full understanding of what was about to happen. The followers really could not believe that He would be put to death. We are called to recognize that we are part of His followers. Like them, we find it difficult to believe that He will die. Even more difficult for us is to recognize that it is we who help put Him to death by our sin and our lack of love. We must walk with Him today and in this Holy Week, acknowledging our sins and our lack of love and praying that He will raise us up with Him.
Life messages: We need to answer 5 questions today:

1) Does Jesus weep over my sinful soul as He wept over Jerusalem at the beginning of His Palm Sunday procession?

2) Am I a barren fig tree? God expects me to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness. Am I a barren fig tree? Or worse, do I continue to produce bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy and selfishness?

3) Will Jesus need to cleanse my heart with his whip? Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of the Holy Spirit in me by my addiction to uncharitable, unjust and impure thoughts words and deeds; neither does He approve of my business mentality or calculation of loss and gain in my relationship with God, my Heavenly Father.

4) Do I welcome Jesus into my heart? Am I ready to surrender my life to him during this Holy Week and welcome Him into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior? Let the palms remind us that Christ is our King and the true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in life.

5) Are we like the humble donkey that carried Jesus, bringing Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service to our families, places of work and communities by the way we live our lives?

May God Bless you,

Fr. S. Vinner HGN.