Palm Sunday
Fr. Ben Riley
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. We celebrate our Lord’s glorious entrance into Jerusalem, the king, entering the capital city. Jesus had just performed the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, and many people were starting to believe that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. But of course we know that this glorious entrance into Jerusalem, is the beginning of the end. While many people believe that Jesus is the Messiah, many others think he is a blasphemer, or worse. The Romans think He has come to unite the Jews to overthrow their empire. After all, He is called a king. So, imagine how confused the Romans must have been when they see this man, this king of the Jews, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Kings don’t ride donkeys; they ride war horses and chariots. But not Jesus. Because although He is a king, we hear from our second reading that “he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
He humbled himself. Today marks the end of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred and powerful celebration of the year. This week we will journey with Jesus as he approaches Calvary. On Holy Thursday, we will dine with Jesus at the Last Supper. On Good Friday, we will accompany him to the Garden of Gethsemane where he is arrested. We will listen as he is falsely accused and ultimately sentenced to death, journeying with Him on the road to Calvary to the rock of Golgotha, the Skull, where He is crucified, taking onto himself the sins of all the world. On Holy Saturday, a light will shine in the darkness. He who was slain for the salvation of the world, will rise from the dead. This week, this holy week, is the culmination, the climax, of our liturgical year. Please, come to the Triduum liturgies. Bring your children to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil services. Yes, they are a little longer than an ordinary Mass, but we only have this opportunity once a year, and if you will make the effort, make the sacrifice, the grace that you receive through these three liturgies, is so profound. And moreover, it’s a grace that we all so desperately need right now.
Just this past week, there have been many sorrows and hardships. On Friday, our state was devastated by tornadoes. Hundreds of people were injured, many lost their homes, and at least 3, sadly, were killed. Pope Francis has been in the hospital for the past few days. And on Monday, another school shooting took place in which 3 children and 3 adults were killed. With so much heartache, it would be easy to become defeated, to be discouraged, depressed, to give up hope. And this is exactly why, we should be yearning for Easter, because our hope is not found in this world. Our hope can only be found in Jesus, in the victory He achieved on the cross.
There are a lot of evils in this world. That’s true, and it has always been true. But why do we spend so much time and energy worrying about them? Why do we spend so much time trying to find someone to blame? “It’s the liberals who are evil, no, it’s the conservatives, no, it’s the government, no, it’s homosexual people, no, it’s transgender people. They are ruining our country, they are attacking us, they are breaking down society.” Whoever they are, we want someone to blame.
Okay, I’ll give you someone to blame. There is only one person who is responsible for evil in the world, and that’s the devil. Satan is an agent of division. He is a being of deception, whose primary goal is to drag us into hell by convincing us that “they” are evil. Why do we give him so much attention by obsessively concerning ourselves with the evils of the world? The more we focus on the evils of the world, the less we are able to live out the Gospel values, to love our neighbors and our enemies.
Now, it’s true that people do cooperate with evil, they choose to sin and rebel against God’s commandments. But it’s not just “they” who do this. So do we.
How did Jesus tell us to respond to evil? He said, “do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Did He say to take up arms and cut them down? No. Did He say to run away and cower in fear? No.
Turn the other cheek, means standing your ground and showing them that you do not play by their rules. Like Jesus who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, like Jesus who was obedient to the point of death. Turning the other cheek means humbling yourself. It means accepting the little deaths, the little trials, so that when the big trials come, you can say, “speak lord, your servant is listening.”
Tragic events have a way of reminding us of our complete dependence on Christ. I pray, that I am not waiting for a tragedy in my life to remind me of my total dependence on Him. This week, this Holy Week, we have the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to Christ. To trust in Him, to have hope in Him, in the victory He achieved on the Cross, and to unite our cross with His.
We live in an evil world, in a dangerous world. But guns and tornadoes can only kill the body, they cannot touch the soul. Parents, you protect your children from physical harm, but are you protecting them from spiritual harm? If we are as serious about protecting our souls as we are about protecting our families, our bodies, our houses, or cars, then let this Easter season be a time of true conversion. A time of humility. A time to stop blaming others and sowing division. A light will shine in the darkness. Let it shine also, in you.