Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
March 24, 2024
Today’s Readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032424.cfm
… He emptied himself,
Philippians 2:7-11
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.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, many joined the procession waving their palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!”. Each one had a unique, personal reason for their actions.
- Some just got caught in traffic.
- Some just liked a parade.
- Some were crowd followers, doing whatever everybody else was doing.
- Some were sure this was the beginning of Jesus’s kingly triumph, and wanted to be on the right side.
- Some wanted to support Jesus in whatever he did.
- Some, just walking quietly beside Jesus, knew this was a momentous turn in the course of history, spinning with a mix of fear and possibility.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We join the long, historical column of believers who have accompanied Jesus on Palm Sunday. What kind of faith motivates us? What shakes the palm branches in our hearts?
- Are we just “caught in traffic”, mindlessly practicing rituals, but short on practical commitment to the Gospel?
- Do we parade our faith on Sundays and then return to an unfaithful life?
- Is the faithful practice of the Gospel slowly teaching us the meaning of the Paschal Mystery – that the palm branch must turn to the cross’s wood before we really become Christians?
Poetry: Palm Sunday – Malcolm Guite
Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The Savior comes. But will I welcome him?
Oh crowds of easy feelings make a start;
They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing,
And think the battle won. Too soon they’ll find
The challenge, the reversal he is bringing
Changes their tune. I know what lies behind
The surface flourish that so quickly fades;
Self-interest, and fearful guardedness,
The hardness of the heart, its barricades,
And at the core, the dreadful emptiness
Of a perverted temple. Jesus, come
Break my resistance and make me your home.
Music: Ain’t No Rock – Chris Christian
Lavish Mercy 