Readings: Is
50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Matt 26:14-27.66
Joyful entry into
Jerusalem; dramatic passion and death on the Cross; pointing to the
resurrection. These phrases sum up the message of Palm Sunday. It is the prelude
to the Holy Triduum –Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil. There are
two parts in today’s celebration that highlight what we celebrate on Palm
Sunday: First of all is the blessing of the palms at the beginning,
followed by the solemn procession. This part highlights the Joyful
Mysteries of Christ. The blessing ritual simply makes sacred the natural
symbols of palms to assume a religious significance. The celebrant prays,
“bless these branches and make them holy.” The procession and triumphal entry
into Jerusalem is a prophetic event. The Gospel proclaimed after the procession
reminds us of the prophecy. We hear that "This took place to fulfill what
was spoken through the prophet: ‘Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king
comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.'" The event therefore was not
just by chance; it is also highly symbolic.
The Gospel of Matthew refers to the prophecies of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Jesus chooses to enter the city 4 days before the Passover. In this first part of today’s liturgy, Jesus communicates the fulfillment of a prophecy: that he is the promised peace-loving and gentle king, who has now come as prophesied. He is greeted with a well known pilgrim psalm 118 “Hosanna son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” That was an acclamation to the one who comes to bring salvation from the hands of the Romans rulers, pointing to salvation from everything that oppresses human beings – above all sin. We therefore celebrate prophetically the triumph of Jesus over sin through his death and resurrection that becomes a reality in the Paschal Mystery of Christ.
The Gospel of Matthew refers to the prophecies of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Jesus chooses to enter the city 4 days before the Passover. In this first part of today’s liturgy, Jesus communicates the fulfillment of a prophecy: that he is the promised peace-loving and gentle king, who has now come as prophesied. He is greeted with a well known pilgrim psalm 118 “Hosanna son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” That was an acclamation to the one who comes to bring salvation from the hands of the Romans rulers, pointing to salvation from everything that oppresses human beings – above all sin. We therefore celebrate prophetically the triumph of Jesus over sin through his death and resurrection that becomes a reality in the Paschal Mystery of Christ.
The second part of
Palm Sunday, the Liturgy of the Word, plunges us into the Sorrowful
Mysteries of Christ in his Passion and Death. The Passion of Our Lord that
we hear today is already prophesied in the first reading from the prophet
Isaiah where he gives us a glimpse of what the messenger of the Lord will
undergo. He will pay a heavy price and suffer both physical and personal
insults. He will be beaten, his beard plucked and spat upon. Psalm 22 blends
well with the theme of the passion of the Lord, unfolding the drama of Christ’s
suffering. The psalmist uses graphic metaphors to describe the bystanders in
terms of ravenous thieves ready to strip him of his clothes, but neither
mockery nor suffering will undermine his purpose and hope. All three readings
today clearly points to the Good Friday events through which we enter into a
drama of cosmic proportions. This drama has an interesting cast of characters with
Christ in the center stage. Whether we like or not, you and I are much part of
this drama of human sinfulness that condemns Jesus to a violent death on the
cross. We are part of the crowd that cries loudly, “His blood be upon us and
upon our children.” So what message do we take home on Palm Sunday? On this
final Sunday of Lent, as we enter into the Sacred time of Holy Week, we are
invited to reflect on what Jesus means in our lives. Yes, we recognize him as
our Savior, but we need to look at him more closely this time to discover just
what kind of a Savior He is. Jesus takes the form of a slave, yet glorified
with a name above all other names; He is an example of humility and
self-offering, particularly suffering for others especially those who identify
with his suffering: the poor, the humiliated, those stripped of their clothes
and food taken off their tables; those disposed and marginalized; the abused
and the ridiculed for no other reason except their creed and skin color. The
core of the message of Palm Sunday is the following: 1) if you and I are to be
saved, we must go where salvation takes place, on our streets and homes and
where violence rages at 2 a.m. in the dark corners of society, where despair
and apathy hold sway daily; where the innocent are abused and the needy
neglected; we must go where there is misunderstanding, fear and jealousy; we
must touch the untouchable and do the unthinkable. In brief, we must go where
Christ emptied himself for our sake; we must go to the Cross to encounter Christ
in the suffering of many. 2) The passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ must touch us
deeply; it must move us to repentance, and prepares us to follow the path that
Jesus takes as He completely humbles himself to the point of “assuming the
condition of a slave, even accepting death, death on the Cross” for our
salvation. 3) Palm Sunday points beyond Good Friday to the resurrection, and
reminds us that there can be no resurrection without Good Friday, without
entering through the Passion and death of Our Lord, in order to rise with Him
into the newness of life.
©2017 John S.
Mbinda
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