Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Luke 22: 14 - 23:56 I have been honored to go to the Holy Land six times. In celebrating Palm Sunday, the question has arisen in my mind many times: would I have been in the reception line welcoming and praising Jesus as He came into Jerusalem? Then I ask: Would I have been in another crowd four days later calling for Jesus’ execution by crucifixion? If accosted by the soldiers would I have said that I was a follower of Jesus or would I have denied even knowing Him? Would I hide after Jesus’ death in fear of my own life or would I have ‘gotten out of Dodge’ as fast as possible’ and tried to start my life over? What would I think when I saw Jesus on the Via Dolorosa… being nailed to the cross…hanging there while the spectators mocked Him out…watching Him die? Where would my hope be? Where would my faith be? Would I continue to carry with me the love that Jesus preached and always showed? I’m sure I am not alone in imagining these situations and in thinking how I would feel and how would I act. I start my reflection on what God has already done for me in my life. That is where Jesus said my story begins: God loved me FIRST! As a result of that love…love has always continued in my life. I think of the love of my parents; the prayers they offered endlessly when I stayed in the hospital for one month after my birth. I think of how they taught me and my other four siblings how to respect others; do good and live the importance of our faith each and every day. Then I think of how this love and faith has been continually reinforced by the teachings of the Sisters of St. Joseph in my elementary and high school years. I think of the pastors and parish priests who impressed me so much that the seeds of my vocation and service came from God through them to me. And here I am now celebrating almost forty-nine years of priesthood. Today’s first reading from Isaiah shows God challenging any nation to come up with witnesses who could say that their gods can really do anything. Isaiah shows God declaring that the people of Israel can certainly bear witness to all that He has done for them. I look at all God has done for me and all I can say is WOW…have I been blessed. And I ask what Have I done with these blessings? Isaiah shares the most prominent of God’s miracles: the exodus from Egypt and passing through the waters to freedom on the other side of the Red Sea. Today Isaiah announces that the people can forget about that great miracle because God is about to so something even more spectacular. I think back through my life and see that God has continued to do grander, greater and more loved filled events and the people who have led me closer to Him. How blessed I am. Now what is left for me to do….Paul shares that His present life is still in process. God needs me this day and these moments. Why? Because He does…I have been chosen…I have been called in my world to testify and to bring God to the people I encounter. This is a continual, never ending assignment. If people do not see God in me, where are they going to find God? Is this too awesome for me to envision? No I have learned and believe that it is all about God. God fills me with whatever I need to be Him and to show Him and to love as He taught me. Paul shares that when he competes his life on earth will be when God takes total possession of his life and Paul will be with God forever. It is the same for all believers. It is not about me….it is about me being Jesus. It is about God’s plan for me and me saying YES, I am here, help me be You! Luke weaves five different episodes into Jesus final days: 1) the Last Supper and Jesus’ farewell talk to His disciples, 2) Jesus’ arrest at the Mt of Olives, 3) the denial, mockery and trial of Jesus, 4) Jesus before Pilate and Herod and 5) Jesus’ crucifixion and death. The commentary in Sunday Homily Helps shows other unique elements of Luke’s Passion narrative. “On the surface, Luke’s passion narrative seems similar to what we are familiar with from other Gospel accounts. However, a careful reading of Luke’s account reveals a series of unique emphases that give it a special character. First, the suffering and death of Jesus are not random acts of fate. They are clearly Jesus’ destiny and are understood to be motivated by divine necessity. Second, the passion of Jesus is presented in such a way as to be a model for discipleship. This will be exemplified in the Acts of the Apostles with the death of Stephen (ch 7). Third, throughout the passion, Jesus is rejected as God’s innocent prophet. Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent and declares Him as such three times At the death of Jesus, the centurion standing guard over Him declares, ‘Certainly, this man was innocent’. Fourth and finally, at His death, Jesus dies as God’s royal Son. Many commentators point out that Luke goes out of his way in his passion narrative to present Jesus as a model of patient selfless suffering, God’s innocent martyr. While that affirmation is correct, it does not present the full picture. Clearly, Luke presents Jesus as more than a martyr. Jesus is God’s prophet, He’s the Savior, a King, the Messiah, and the Son of God. All of this is reflected throughout Luke’s story of the passion. This is all part of God’s faithful plan implemented through divine necessity.” What can I take away from this day…that God is always with me. He hasn’t ever left me. He is constantly filling me with what I need. And probably most importantly, God has a plan. The life of Jesus continually shows God’s plan. Jesus acceptance and obedience of God’s plan shows me that God cares and God loves me and has a plan for me. The plan is not negative; His plan is about being promised and given all the grace and gifts necessary for me to be in heaven with Him and all the saints. So I reflect on the commentary in Connections, The newsletter of ideas, resources and information for homilists and preachers: “Today — every day — can be a day of hope, of healing, of transformation. Today, Jesus promises the good thief. Today, Jesus promises all of us. In imitating Christ’s mercy, in taking up His work of reconciliation, in struggling to be salt for the earth and the light for the world, we profess our belief that Paradise not only exists in the future but exists now, hidden in the present - and Jesus promises to be with us in Paradise, not just after our own deaths, but today, in the very moment, in the Paradise we open up in own time and place. Despite the hopelessness of our own crosses, despite the suffocating weight we bear, Christ still enables us to find our place int he Kingdom of His Father where justice and love rule. In Christ present in the love and support of generous family and friends and community, may you make your way to the promise of Paradise. Today.” Sacred Space 2016 in it’s introduction says, “Your death on the cross has set me free. I can live joyously and freely without fear of death. Your mercy knows no bounds.”