Palm Sunday 2004
31/03/07 20:22
Palm Sunday 2004
A story is told of a little boy who got sick on Palm Sunday morning and was unable to attend Mass. When the rest of the family returned home from church, waving palms, the sick boy asked, “What are those?” His mom, dad, brothers and sisters explained that the palms were used to welcome Jesus as he came into town. The sick little boy cried, “Darn. That’s no fair. The one time I miss church, Jesus decides to show up!”
Friends, I have good news: Jesus is here, and he has shown up, and he is with us all the time. That’s what we celebrate as Christians, and especially each week when we gather for Mass.
Today, as we hear the reading of the Passion of Jesus, and as we prepare to begin our solemn celebration of Holy Week, I am not going to speak many words, because the real homily today is contained in the reading itself.
I simply want to look at three words.
The first word is “love.” I want us to pause and think about the great love of Jesus for us – a love so great that he willingly suffered and died on the cross for us. If anyone saw the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” which came out this Lent, then you will understand the depth of Jesus’ love for us as you watch the blood, the excruciating pain, to beating and whipping and suffering that he endured for our sake.
This year, we are journeying through the gospel of Luke in our Sunday readings – and Luke’s version of the Passion of Jesus, which we hear today, is particularly clear about the bottomless depth of Jesus’ love for us. This is the only gospel where the compassionate Jesus heals the ear of the soldier which has been cut off in the Garden of Gethsemani by one of Jesus’ disciples. This is the only gospel where Jesus looks out with compassion on the crowd that has nailed him to the cross and says, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This is the gospel where Jesus forgives the repentant sinner. This is the gospel where Jesus shows special concern for the poor, the weak and the marginalized in his society.
The second word is Faith. Faithfulness, fidelity, marked Jesus’ journey to Calvary. He did not want to go to the cross, and in fact, prayed to his Father, “If it is your will, take this cup from me.” But he remained faithful to his Father, even in the darkness of confusion and doubt and not fully understanding. He never lost confidence that his heavenly Father knew what he was doing, and that all would turn out for the best, in the end.
The third and final word is obedience. Jesus remained obedient to his Father’s call for his life, and thus fulfilled the purpose for which he had been sent into the world.
We are called to imitate Jesus’ love and faithfulness and obedience. It’s not always easy, and we sometimes stray and fall away, which is why the church gives us this gift of Lent and this gift of Holy Week every year – to help us refocus and to recollect. Our Palm Sunday celebration reminds us how easy it is to be two-faced, as were the people in our first gospel reading today – one day, they are waving palms and crying, “Hosanna! Hail to the King!” – but then a week later, they are crying, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
In the coming week of Holy Week, and in the weeks beyond, here are a few concrete ways to re-commit and re-connect with Jesus, and to imitate him in those three words, those three virtues: Love, faith, obedience.
1. Attend some of the beautiful Holy Week and Easter services and nurture your soul. Thursday – Holy Thursday -- we remember Jesus’ last supper. Friday – Good Friday -- we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. Saturday night at 8 p.m., the Vigil Mass, we light the Easter candle for the new year and march into the church with lit candles to dispel the darkness of Jesus’ suffering and death with the light of his resurrection and new life. This is when we baptize all our adults, teens and older children. On Sunday, we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead and we celebrate in baptism the new spiritual life of Jesus in the lives of many of our parish’s children.
2. Invite someone to church with you next Sunday. Often the only reason many people don’t go to church on Sunday is that nobody ever bothers to invite and welcome them.
3. Follow through with the commitments we urge all members of our church to make:
a. Pray daily.
b. Attend Mass weekly.
c. Grow spiritually – through our mini-retreats, youth groups, our small faith communities.
d. Serve joyfully.
e. Give generously.
Palm Sunday, 2005
31/03/07 20:21
Palm Sunday – March 20, 2005
Hot or Cold?
A story is told of a little boy, 5 years old, who didn’t go to Mass one Sunday because he was sick. When the rest of the family came home, however, they were waving palm branches, so the little boy asked about what had happened at church that morning. An older sister replied, “People waved palm branches when Jesus came marching in!” At that, the little boy cried out, “It figures! On the one Sunday when I don’t go to church, Jesus decides to show up!”
The story is humorous, but there is a fallacy in it. Jesus is present at Mass, every time we gather for the Eucharist. As we begin Holy Week today, we need to remind ourselves that this is not just about an event that occurred 2,000 years ago – some relic from the past. Jesus is still present with us today, here and now and waiting for with outstretched arms, waiting for us to draw closer to him.
The real issue is not: Is Jesus here? The real question is: Are we present? Are we ready to recognize Jesus in our midst?
I brought with me today two items – both containing caffeine. [Show cup of coffee and Coke or Pepsi]. What is the difference between these two items? Right – one is hot, the other cold.
On your sheet today, it says, “Hot or Cold?” That’s the question I want us to ask of ourselves as we begin Holy Week today. Are we hot or cold, spiritually? That’s what we see on this feast day – a people who are on fire for Jesus one moment, screaming, “Hosanna!” – but cold for Jesus a few days later, screaming, “Crucify him!” Lots of Catholics are like that, too!
Today’s real homily is in our readings today – especially the reading of the Passion and death of Jesus. Just let the story sink in for a moment. And to help us, we are going to watch a short two-minute video presentation of Palm Sunday. [Show video clip from movie, “Jesus”]
Holy Week offers us a profound opportunity to simply slow down and meditate about the great gift of God’s love for us – a love so tremendous that the Father send his only Son into the world to save us from our sins, and that Son, Jesus, offered his life on the cross because of his unlimited love for us.
On your handout are five simple ways – five opportunities – to make the most out of this Holy Week,. Spiritually. They are:
1. Opportunity 1: Participate in today’s Parish Picnic at Lake Coahuilla – a chance to just hang out with your spiritual family.
2. Opportunity 3: Read the Passion story in Matthew’s gospel together as a family.
3. Opportunity 3: Watch Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ” – tomorrow, 6 p.m.
4. Opportunity 4: Attend Holy Week liturgies this week – Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter.
5. Opportunity 5: Bring someone with you to Easter Mass next weekend.
As we begin this Holy Week, let us ask ourselves: Is Jesus really alive in my life? Am I hot or cold, spiritually?
I heard a funny story of a preacher who once really got the congregation riled up. He was preaching up a storm and yelled, “This church really needs to get itself a walkin’” and the people responded in a loud voice, “Let’s start a walkin’.” The preacher then screamed, “This church really needs to get itself a runnin’” and the people screamed, “Let’s start a runnin’.” Then the preacher screamed, “God wants this church to fly!” and all the people yelled out in unison, “Let’s start a flyin’.” Then the preacher yelled out, “For this church to fly, we’re gonna need some money!” – and there was a pause, then the people all started yelling, “Let’s go back to walkin’.”
A true story is told of a man in Georgia who, in the 1960s, during the civil rights movement in the south, founded a church ministry to bring healing a reconciliation between the different races. One day, he ran into some legal difficulties, so he asked his brother for help. His brother was a lawyer and an aspiring politician. But the brother refused to help, saying it would ruin his political aspirations and his career. The ministry leader reminded his brother than when they were younger, they had gone to church and give their lives to the Lord and promised to follow him always. But the lawyer brother responded, “I promised to follow Jesus up to the cross, but not get on the cross and get crucified!” The first brother lashed out, “You’re not a real disciple and follower of Jesus! You’re just an admirer!” Unfortunately, there are lots of admirers of Jesus, but not enough true disciples and followers!
To be a true Christian, we need to follow Jesus to the cross and to die to our old selves, so that God can raise us to new life, just as He raised Jesus. On your handout, let’s read together some of the ways we die, and some of the ways that we rise:
• I die when: I am conscious of lifelong limitations in myself; when I am tired, overworked, out of sorts, not feeling well; when I am discouraged by lack of success or of support; when I let fear and anxiety and worry rule in my life; when I succumb over and over again to temptations and bad habits; when I become surly, ungrateful, dispirited, negative in my attitude toward myself or others.
• I rise when: I experience friendship and support from family and friends; when my talents and gifts are recognized and used; when I share and show love and kindness, courtesy and understanding to others; when I show compassion to someone who is hurting; when I am at peace with myself, full of God’s deep and abiding sense of joy and presence; when I am faithful to my commitments to God and to others; when Murphy’s Law fails and things go right!
A joke is told of a little boy who was doing horribly in school, especially in math -- so his parents put him into a Catholic school. His grades improved almost instantly. The parents asked the boy what had happened and he replied, “In that school, they are serious! They have a guy in every single classroom, hanging dead on a big plus sign, and I don’t want to be like him!”
The cross is not supposed to scare us! The cross is the sign of God’s limitless love for us – how Jesus stretched out his arms in love on the cross to save us! It is an invitation for us to respond back with love for God and for others! Let’s read the verse on your handout: Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. -- 2 Cor. 4:10-11 (NLT)
Turn to the back of your handouts – one final point this morning, from the story of the donkey. Notice that in the gospel that began our celebration today of Palm Sunday, someone offered a donkey so that Jesus could ride on it. We all have a donkey we can offer to Jesus – something we can give back!
A true story is told of an inner city church in New York that ministered the children in the gang infested housing projects. Once a Puerto Rican woman became involved in the church and was led to Christ. After her conversion, she asked the pastor the church, "I want to do something to help with the church's ministry." He asked her what her talents were and she could think of nothing---she couldn't even speak English---but she did love children. So he put her on one of the church's buses that went into neighborhoods and transported kids to church. Every week she performed her duties. She would find the worst-looking kid on the bus, put him on her lap and whisper over and over the only words she had learned in English: "I love you. Jesus loves you." After several months, she became attached to one little boy in particular. The boy didn't speak. He came to Sunday School every week with his sister and sat on the woman's lap, but he never made a sound. Each week she would tell him all the way to Sunday School and all the way home, "I love you and Jesus loves you." One day, to her amazement, the little boy turned around and stammered, "I---I---I love you too!" Then he put his arms around her and gave her a big hug. That was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. At 6:30 that night he was found dead. His own mother had beaten him to death and thrown his body in the trash. "I love you and Jesus loves you." Those were some of the last words this little boy heard in his short life---from the lips of a Puerto Rican woman who could barely speak English. This woman gave her one talent to God and because of that a little boy who never heard the word "love" in his own home, experienced and responded to the love of Christ. What can you give? What is your "colt", your donkey? You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the colt, move Jesus and His message further down the road.
Let’s conclude by reading together the final verse on your handout: God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead! – Philippians 3:9-11
This year, as we enter into Holy Week, are we people of real faith – disciples of Jesus or just mere admirers? Are we hot or are we called? Are we screaming “Hosanna!,” or are we screaming, “Crucify him!” ?