March 28, 2021
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. It is more than a day to get a palm branch. It is a day of mystery as we reflect upon Jesus’ entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem. Prophetically, Jesus sits upon a colt, a young donkey. He does not ride on a war horse. He comes not to do battle but as God’s ambassador of peace. People wave palm branches to salute Jesus. It is a spontaneous gesture of the crowd. Jesus enters Jerusalem not like a dignitary seeking applause but with a solemn purpose in mind.
Jesus knows that many of those who acclaim him will turn on him. He knows what awaits him. Yet he also knows that he is doing the will of the Father. He enters the city with courage, confidence, and resolve. Jesus will offer his body at the last supper with his disciples and then some will take his body by force.
We all have a Jerusalem ahead of us – seen and unseen. For us it is not a city, but it might be an illness, a loss of a job, a worry or concern for someone we love, a bout of anxiety and depression, a pandemic that removes all that is familiar. Jesus shows us how to move toward our Jerusalem. As with Jesus, we may not have the support of others we would likely count upon. They have troubles and concerns of their own. But we are not entering Jerusalem alone. Jesus has been there.
As we begin Holy Week that recalls the great events of our redemption, let us ask the Lord to give us the grace to cope and to care, and the strength to face whatever is ahead for us. Jesus shows us that the cross, whatever form it takes in our life, can lead to salvation and new life. The palm branch we take home to weave into a cross or to intertwine with a crucifix, reminds us that whatever lies in the future that Jesus has been there first. He knows the way that leads to Easter.
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5th Sunday of Lent B
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Easter Vigil & Mass
