April 14, 2019

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord C
Isaiah 50: 47; Philippians 2: 6-11; Luke 22: 14–23:56
We begin the holiest of weeks accompanying Jesus in HIs intense suffering, death and Resurrection.
How do I feel? Am I keeping myself open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit or do I stay with the
same old…same old story handed down through the ages? God is always ‘new’…He is leading me in a
way that lets me discover more about His plan so I can effectively journey to heaven, my goal…God’s
plan for me. Am I cooperative with the Holy Spirit? Am I removing the roadblocks to this discovery of
God in my life this week? We set the stage as we analyze the readings on this Palm Sunday.
The Book of Isaiah is divided into two parts: the first part is called The Book of Judgment which
contains an anthology of poems composed by Isaiah. The second part is called the Book of Consolation,
sometimes called Deutero-Isaiah, composed by an anonymous poet who prophesied toward the end of
the Babylonian exile. A prominent portion of this section is the introduction of the Suffering Servant.
This figure will bring a feeling of reassurance after all the prideful and ‘bad’ people who came to light in
the first section. The kings had been unfaithful to the God of Israel and turned to other sources for help
and security. As a result the kingdoms collapsed. But now there is a promise of restoration. The people
are eager to put their faith in God. Today’s passage is the third of four passages on the Suffering
Servant. The footnote in the Catholic Study Bible describes the Suffering Servant: “Many
identifications have been proposed, e.g., historical Israel, ideal Israel, an Old Testament historical
character before or during the lifetime of the prophet, the prophet himself. The New Testament and
Christian tradition, however, have seen a fulfillment of these prophecies in Jesus Christ.” The Servant
is different. The Servant begins each day by listening to what God has to say and thus is able to face
whatever challenge comes along. The people will be tempted to go their own way…opponents in high
places will use all means possible to shame and intimidate the Servant. This doesn’t work because the
Servant relies on God and God’s plan. Do I do the same? Do I feel that I am owed something and a
comfortable life is to be expected? Actually violent reactions come in response to Isaiah’s words until
finally he is killed by the very ones he prophesied. (Isaiah 53: 8)
Paul is writing to the Philippian community while he was in prison. Earlier Paul had praised them
because of all their help and encouragement. Scholars say that today’s passage is more than likely an
early Christian hymn seeing Jesus’ humiliation and then His exaltation on the cross leading to His
Resurrection. Although Jesus is God’s Son, He accepted the total humility to walk among us as one of
us proving His total love by His cruel death. And so His name is ‘above all names’. Everyone should
show total gratitude and everyone should constantly praise God for proving His love and share this
Good News to all.
In Church today we are greeted with the blessing of the Palm and hear the Gospel describing this event:
Luke 19: 28-40. If we listened carefully we did not hear the mention of the palms being waved by the
people…this is only in Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts. Luke describes “As He rode along, the people
were spreading their cloaks on the road…” Luke was constantly describing the poor and their acceptance of
Jesus and the enthusiasm to come for healing and to listen to His every word. Here they prove
something extraordinary: they placed their most valuable and important possession in front of Jesus and
the donkey that brought Jesus through Jerusalem. A cloak was the most expensive piece of clothing a
person owned. It was constantly being mended and never discarded. The very poor used it for warmth,
to protect them from the elements and for cover during the cold nights. In this act the poorest of the
poor were giving ‘everything they owned’ to show their love and acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and
Messiah. Where have I emptied myself for Jesus? What prize possession do I have that is more
important to me than my devotion and following of Jesus’ way?
The second Gospel story today is the suffering and death of Jesus. At the beginning we see the apostles
as being obedient, dedicated and committed to Jesus. This will change radically. We see Jesus in a
totally different light: He is not thinking of Himself, He never did, but now as always He is concerned
about others. Fr. Paul Schmidt in Sunday Homily Helps describes Jesus this way:
A. “At the Last Supper, He reaches out to the disciples, who had argued about who is the greatest. He
tells them this attitude is not to be theirs.” Where am I ‘too big for my britches?'
B. “He reaches out to Peter, saying He has prayed for him before the denial; Jesus fixes His eyes on
Peter after the denial.” Jesus said He is constantly praying for me too. Do I acknowledge this;
believe this?
C. “He warns Judas before the betrayal and later responds as a hurt friend to him at the moment of
betrayal, asking ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’ ‘ Where do I betray Jesus?
Why?
D. “Jesus comforts the women weeping at the side of the road to Calvary.” Jesus cares for me each
time when I’m hurting.
E. “He asks His Father to forgive those who are nailing Him to the cross.” I look at the countless
times He forgives me. My response?
F. “He promises paradise to the criminal crucified at His side”. Jesus promised heaven to me. Why
am I hesitant to believe this?
G. “This is how Jesus Christ triumphed over sin and death. He gave Himself in love. For this reason
God gave Him a name above every other name.” Am I loving as Jesus showed me? What is
holding me back? Do I ask for help in this?
So I reflect on:
• Every Eucharist is Holy Week in miniature: we eat the saving bread and drink the holy cup and
proclaim His death until He comes into us. Do I celebrate each Eucharist in this manner? Am I
preparing for the Eucharist beforehand and grateful afterward?
• Do I pray and believe that ’I need a power greater than myself to save me?’
• What crosses will I be carrying this week as Jesus accepted His? Why am I reluctant with these
crosses or why am I complaining?
• What part of Luke’s two gospels today touches me most?
• How has my Lent prepared me to enter into Holy Week? What can I do now to prepare for this
holiest of weeks?
Sacred Space 2019 states:
“I choose a moment or a scene from this long story of Jesus’ Passion, and I stay with Jesus. I tell how I feel
about what is happening. I try to comfort Him.
Lord Jesus, show me how to be present to people who are suffering—people I know who are being persecuted or
mistreated or misunderstood and ostracized,”