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04/01/2007

Knights of Columbus

FR. OLMAN'S HOMILIES

02/04/2007

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03/25/2007

04/01/2007

The reading of St Luke’s passion narrative dominates this Sunday which introduces Holy Week, the most important week in the Church’s year.  At the same time it commemorates the entry of our Lord into Jerusalem.  This Sunday is called Passion Sunday because the passion of our Lord is read today.  It is also called Palm Sunday because today palms are blessed and carried during procession.

Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing full well what awaited him -- betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion.  The people of Jerusalem, however, were ready to hail him as their Messianic King!  Little did they know what it would cost this king to usher in his Kingdom.   Jesus' entry into Jerusalem astride a colt was a direct fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah.  The colt was a sign of peace.  Jesus enters Jerusalem in meekness and humility, as the Messianic King who offers victory and peace to his people, that is the meaning of the colt.  If Jesus chose a horse, that means war. 

Jesus claimed to be king.  He claimed to be the king of peace.  He came not to destroy but to love, not to condemn but to help, not in the might of arms but in the strength of love.

Today we carry palms.  Palm is a symbol of victory.  Among the Romans and the Jews it was carried in joyful and triumphant procession.  In the New Testament palms were connected with martyrdom.

St. Augustine of Hippo comments on the significance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem:  "The master of humility is Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to death, even the death of the cross.  Thus he does not lose his divinity when he teaches us humility.  ..What great thing was it to the king of the ages to become the king of humanity?  For Christ was not the king of Israel so that he might exact a tax or equip an army with weaponry and visibly vanquish an enemy.  He was the king of Israel in that he rules minds, in that he gives counsel for eternity, in that he leads into the kingdom of heaven for those who believe, hope, and love.  It is a condescension, not an advancement for one who is the Son of God, equal to the Father, the Word through whom all things were made, to become king of Israel.  It is an indication of pity, not an increase in power." [Tractates on John 51.3-4]

Luke’s passion narrative is a story of victory.  Christ commits into his father’s hands the Spirit which anointed him, so that his disciples might receive the same Spirit from on high.  Being a just man, Jesus never deserved death, but his Father wanted him to offer himself in suffering and death for man’s salvation.  Christ’s passion ends one era and begins a new one when, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, repentance and forgiveness would be preached.  Our victory is over sin and death. 

Though this Mass is devoted to the sufferings of our Lord, the theme of victorious endurance shines through.  His was not the ultimate misery of suffering for a lost cause.  His case was won before he undertook the passion.  It is the same for the Christian, though he knows that the road to eternal life will to avoid the road to Calvary.

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Last modified:04/14/2007