Palm/Passion Sunday
By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
April 17, 2011
April 17, 2011
By now you must be wondering, what is this Sunday really about? The Sacramentary calls it Passion Sunday while the Lectionary call it Palm Sunday. To confuse you more last Fridays readings find the people wanting to stone Jesus. Today we find Jesus greeted with great excitement with palm branches and "Hosannas" as the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. For all these many years we do exactly the same thing on this Sunday by the blessing and waving of palm branches. To honor, to greet and get excited in the present of Jesus here in this assembly.
And suddenly the scene changes to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all have heard and taken part in. How quickly the hearts of people change, from throwing stones to great rejoicing, to Crucify Him, Crucify Him!
The scene hasn't changed all that much in 2000 years, for Bishop Sheen reflects on the issue of the Church and the world after the Vatican Council: and how the world continues to challenge the Church even in our day. "Come down and we will believe, come down from your belief in the sacredness of life. Come down from your belief that truth is merely what is pleasing. Come down from the Cross of sacrifice and we will believe." Taken from Bishop's book titled, Treasure in Clay.1
None of this is helpful unless we began Holy Week at the Cross, at the heart of the greatest act of Love ever possible: the Divine dying for the imperfect, for sinners, the Perfect mortally wounded for each one of us. Just as the crowd tempted Jesus to come down from His Cross, we too can be tempted to come down from our crosses.
Maybe there is a cross in your life right now and you are tempted to come down and flee from what God is calling you to do. Maybe you are tempted to let go of your vocation or a resolution that you have previously made. We are all nailed to different crosses, and the temptation to take an "easy way out" is quite strong. Yet the only way to live in Christ is by embracing our crosses, embracing our vocations, embracing our call to holiness, and allowing our absolute death to selfishness to bring new life, into ourselves, our families, our Church and into the world for the greater honor and glory of God.
'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.
More reflections:
Somewhat-related posts:
- "Jesus Christ, Tough as Nails"
(April 7, 2010) - "Christ is Risen"
(April 4, 2010) - "Posts About Palm Sunday and Blogging, in Another Blog"
(March 28, 2010) - "3rd Sunday of Easter: A Reflection"
(April 26, 2009) - "Easter, 2009"
(April 12, 2009)
1 "Treasure in Clay:" The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen.
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