Passion Sunday [Palm Sunday] (Year C)

Lk 19.28-40;  Isaiah 50.4-7;  Ps 21;  Phil 2.6-11;  Lk 22.14-23.56
1. During much of His public life, Our Lord seems to have hidden His true identity. After many of His healings, He urges silence: tell no-one.  My hour has not yet come. He remains enigmatic.  He refuses to be drawn into any revelation of His divine status; however the events we commemorate this morning mark a definite change. Jesus went public on Palm Sunday.  His time has come.

2. Christ public declaration as Messiah was deliberate and planned, and deeply symbolic.  The promised Messiah was expected to make a triumphant entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem.  Christ’s triumphant entry was with a difference. By riding on a donkey He combined the glory of the Messiah’s arrival with His characteristic humility.  A lowly creature carried the Son of David.

3. The manner of His entry into Jerusalem certainly awakened the loyalty of the crowd.  Their shouts of Hosanna – ‘God saves’ – showed that they recognized Christ as the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David, who was to fulfil God’s purposes.  They threw their garments to the ground in front of Him to make a carpet together with their palms – their version of the red carpet we use in modern times to greet a person of status and distinction.

4. The crowd’s shouts unnerved the religious leaders.  Some of them implored Jesus to silence the noise the crowds.  The crowds were not only shouting for themselves.  They represent the joyful consummation of the century-long hopes of Israel. The past, present and future rejoices through the cries of Hosanna.

5. When the Jewish leaders called on Jesus to check the disciples, he hinted at an even wider sense of rejoicing, a cosmic reaction to this historical moment.  “I tell you, even if these remain silent, the stones themselves will cry out.”  The shouts on the first Palm Sunday may only have been heard in the streets of Jerusalem, but their echoes have spread throughout the world.

6. In the solemn proclamation of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke, Christ extends His arms on the Cross to draw all men to Himself.  At the moment of His death the earth itself grows dark and shakes.  His suffering, death and resurrection are of universal significance through all time and in every heart. They change not only people, but also the world.  The effects of this mighty work will be felt in heaven and hell as well as on the earth.

7. As we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem we are launched on a journey that encompasses the depths and heights of human experience.  We shall accompany our Saviour through agony and triumph. We are shown that God’s love extends to every aspect of human existence.  That there is no sin which cannot be forgiven.  There is no human being who cannot come to believe in Christ and share His death and new life.

8. This week gives each of us an individual opportunity to take up our cross and follow Christ. Let us walk with Christ, hear His words and associate ourselves with His actions.  I pray that we will all do so for own discipleship, commitment and prayer are a communal experience, so that the saving work of Christ, His Passion, may extend further into the hearts of all.

9. Share the message of the Holy Week with those who are not Catholic or Christian.  Encourage someone lapsed to come back to Church this week on the margins to keep a full Triduum and to see Our Lord for themselves.  Pray for the world which Christ died to save.

Osho