Homily for Palm Sunday Lent Year C 2022
Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56
Introduction
New Orleans is known for its parades: the
Mardi Gras parades, the Irish-Italian parades around the feasts of St. Joseph
and St. Patrick as well as the Jazz funerals and second line parades. Is Palm Sunday, the celebration of Jesus' entry
into Jerusalem just another parade?
Scripture and Tradition
Of course the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
has similarities with the parades of New Orleans. Like them, the entry of Jesus was accompanied
by joy, victory, triumph, celebration.
·
That is why, like the King of Rex
or Zulu rides a float, Jesus rode on a donkey which the people had adorned with
their clothes.
·
That is why, like we decorate
the parade routs with all kinds of things, a very large crowd spread their
cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them
on the road for Jesus.
·
That is why, like we usually
shout out: “throw me something mister,” the
crowds preceding and following Jesus also shouted out something, “Hosanna to the Son of David" a word
which means "Lord, save us."
But there are some differences too.
·
Jesus rode a humble donkey, not
an expensive float that the King of Endymion rides. The victory which Jesus represents is a
humble victory, as represented by the humble donkey, rather than the horse.
·
But the greater difference is
that the victory, triumph and joy that the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
represents is not simply fun and pleasure, but is a victory over sin and death,
the victory of salvation, life with God.
·
The greatest difference is the
means of achieving this victory. The joy
we celebrate during the parades costs no more than a couple of beads, coconuts
and other trinkets. The victory of Jesus
comes at great cost. That is why as we
celebrate Palm Sunday with palms to represent celebration, but also with the
long gospel passage of the Passion, which tells us about the suffering and
death of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the closest example of a parade
with the same meaning as Palm Sunday is the parade you sometimes see in small
towns or in movies, held for soldiers coming back home. Their family, friends and fellow citizens
celebrate the return home from war for one of their sons or daughters. The mood is often joyous, but also sombre, recognizing
that this victory has come at great cost, especially when the returning soldier
has been injured in a serious way.
Similarly, Palm Sunday joins together, what
we will celebrate separately on Good Friday and Easter. Palm Sunday joins the pain of the cross and
the victory of the resurrection. We are
reminded that the two go together, because without the Cross the victory is
hollow, like some of our parades. But
without Victory our crosses have no hope, like some the despair felt by many
today who do not know Jesus Christ.
Christian Application
As we begin Holy Week, which is really one
continuous celebration of God’s love for us, let us not lose sight of what it
is all about.
Let us take advantage of the special services
of this week, which in a very dramatic way remind us of the central mysteries
of our faith: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.
Let us go to confession, to prepare our
souls for Easter. Let us make use of the sacraments.
Conclusion
Let us allow God, through this Holy Week,
to make us holy too, to bring us closer to God and to each other.
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