HOMILY FOR PALM SUNDAY YEAR B

 

HOMILY FOR 24 MARCH 2024 PALM SUNDAY YEAR B

Mark 11: 1-10 or John 12:12-16; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9,17-18,19-20,23-24; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14:1--15:47

JESUS THE SON OF GOD IS MY REDEEMER

I pray for you: During this most Holy Week, may the time you spend reflecting on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus bring you a greater awareness of Gods love for you!

Dear brother and sisters, today begins the Holy Week, the most solemn week in the calendar of the church. We reflect upon the events that brought about our salvation. Jesus triumphantly enters into Jerusalem, the City of Peace, in order to announce the Good News, not just with His words but by His act of loving sacrifice for all people. We journey along with Him as He celebrates the great feast of Passover and becomes the New Paschal Lamb whose blood is poured out so that we, the New Israel, might experience the liberation from sin and the new life of grace. We look on as Jesus Christ suffers His passion and crucifixion. And ultimately, we will experience His glorification from the cross and at the tomb. Amen.

In our readings today, we are taken through the events of the next eight days. It begins with the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The glory at the end of the eight days is alluded to in Pauls letter to the Philippians.

The readings are quite powerful in what they say about Who Jesus is and why He came to earth.  It reminds us of His mission and His dedication to announcing the Good News of Gods love for us.

The first Gospel (Mk 11: 1-10 or John 12: 12-16) is the description of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Jesus prepares to enter The City of Jerusalem (the place of peace), the place where God has chosen to dwell and makes the divine presence known. It is this city which welcomes Jesus. The crowds cry out with joy and praise as Jesus enters. They praise Jesus as the descendant of David who comes in the name of the Lord God. The people are ecstatic that Jesus is coming to The City for the feast of Passover. They have yearned for His arrival, but were afraid that He would not come because of the tension between him and the religious leaders.  The crowds cut down branches from trees and wave the branches as Jesus passes by. They put their cloaks on the pathway just as today we roll out the red carpet for celebrities and presidents and governors. Hosanna!  Hosanna! they scream as they welcome Jesus into The City, the very place where He will experience His Hour of Glory in His death and resurrection.

In the First Reading of the regular Liturgy of the Word, the tone switches as we hear one of the Suffering Servant Songs of Isaiah. Isaiah speaks to the exiles in Babylon. He tells of One who will suffer for the sake of the people. Scripture Scholars are not sure if the suffering servant was an individual or the people of Israel as a whole who experience persecution during their time in exile. The Christians have seen the pre-figurement of Jesus in these passages from the Prophet Isaiah. How true these words will be for Jesus later this week as He refrains from His preaching to the weary and willingly faces scourging, belittlement, and death.  

Psalm 22 begins with words which we use as our refrain:  My God, My God, why have You abandoned me. Jesus will quote these words as He dies on the cross. The psalm continues as it describes the suffering of an individual: the ridicule by people who belittle the relationship that the Suffering One has with God; the piercing of the hands and feet, the casting of lots for the garments of the One being punished. The psalm ends with trust being ultimately placed in God.  It speaks about the glory of the Lord being proclaimed by the one who has suffered.

In the second reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians, he uses an early Christian profession of faith in Who Jesus is. He inspires us to put on the mind of Jesus the Christ, the One who was willing to let go of His equality with God, in order to humble Himself to share in our humanity. And humbling Himself, Jesus went all the way to death; and the worst death of all, death on the cross. Nevertheless, in being faithful to doing the will of His Father, Jesus is glorified and given the name above all other names. He is one with the father and worthy of praise as God the Son. This reminds us of the essence of the paschal mysteries we celebrate this week:  Jesus coming among us, suffering and dying on the cross, and being glorified by God.

The Gospel relates the events of this week, from Judas making a pack with the religious leaders to hand over Jesus, to the Last Supper, to the agony in the garden, to the fake trial, to His passion; which is his condemnation, scourging, crowning with thorns, crucifixion, death, and burial. We need to read the passion story over and over again this week. We should take time to realize all that Jesus did in order to bring the Good News to us. The four gospels share only a glimpse of the full suffering and pain that Jesus experienced.  So also the resurrection accounts will only give us a small idea of the magnificence of the glorified Risen Lord Jesus.

Dear Sisters and Sisters, Books have been written, movies have been made, about the passion of Jesus, describing the physical and emotional pain Jesus suffered. Yet, rather than my adding words or your reading how much Jesus suffered, it behooves us to spend time this week slowly and reflectively re-reading the passion as related to us in the four Gospels.  [Matthew 26: 14  27:66; Mark 14: 1  15:47; Luke 22:1  23:56; John 13:1  19:42. Each gives us another perspective on the key events of the mystery of our salvation.

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, a key line in the Gospel is the words of the Roman soldier after the death of Jesus:  Truly, this man was the Son of God!  This should be our profession of faith this week, and always.  Let us proclaim it by living as the daughters and sons of God, the sisters and brothers of the Lord Jesus. Let us live lives that show that we accept the salvation and redemption for which Jesus poured out His blood.

MEDITATION When I think of the events of Holy Week, what thoughts come to mind?  How do I make this week the holiest week of the year?  How can I share the Good News of the paschal mysteries to those with whom I come in contact?

PRAYER Lord God, give us the wisdom to take the time to reflect on the saving events of this Holy Week.  May we be willing to profess our faith in the relationship which Jesus died to bring us. Through Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

O DIVINE WORD WHO TOOK FLESH FOR HUMAN SAKE, REDEEM US IN OUR SITUATIONS

© Rev. Fr. Utazi Prince Marie Benignus