AT THE PROCESSION WITH PALMS
Gospel Mt. 21:1-11
When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
“Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Homily
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Today, my dear sisters and brothers, we will gather to remember and to celebrate Palm Sunday. We will go to Mass not simply to bless palms which we will keep in our homes for a variety of reasons, many of them superstitious, over the coming year. We will gather to remember and to celebrate a man who lived his life in humility in spite of his greatness and who became greater yet because of his humility.
While the Roman overlords rode arrogantly into Jerusalem on horses, normally stallions, Jesus chose the lowly donkey, a she-donkey at that, for his triumphal entry into the city, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “Say to the daughter of Zion, Look, your King comes to you, He is humble, He rides on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden”.
This display of humility was not feigned. This is the habit which is supposed to characterize leaders. “Look your King comes to you humble”. This was the habit, which Jesus lived from the birth in a stable, throughout the public ministry and into his betrayal, passion and death. St. Paul describes Jesus’ habit of humility in this way. “His state was divine, yet Christ Jesus did not cling to his quality with God, but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are, and being as men are he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.”
In the Gospel narrative which we just heard, Peter cuts off the ear of the servant of the High Priest and Jesus rebukes Peter, pointing out to him that if he wanted he could ask his Father for legions of angels to defend him, but that was not the way of humility. It was not Jesus’ way. St. Paul reminds us however that Jesus’ way of humility leads to greatness when he reminds the Philippians that, “God raised him high and gave Him the name which is above all other names, so that at the name of Jesus all beings in the heavens, on the earth and in the underworld should bend the knee and every tongue proclaim that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
This then is the man we remember and celebrate today. We do this remembering the context of Eucharist, during which we are told, “Do this in my memory”. Called to keep the memory of Christ alive, we too, like Christ must build the habit of humility in our lives. In a society and age in which, ostentatiousness in housing and possessions and the arrogance of leaders, be these religious, business, civil, or political seems to be par for the course, those of us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus must make the downward mobility of Jesus the pattern of our lives. This does not mean that we do not strive to be the best that we can be but that after all our striving we put our resources gifts and talents at the service of God’s Kingdom, doing the best that we can to ensure that those with whom we interact come to their highest fulfillment. This will mean for us the acceptance, not only of the sacrifices which downward mobility entails but also the arrogance and ridicule of others. This was the way of Jesus and this has always been the way of the saints. St. Francis divested himself of all the wealth which he received from his father to embrace as he called it, “Lady Poverty”. Mother Teresa gave up all the comforts and security of her convent to go and live with those living and dying on the streets of Calcutta, truly becoming their servant and you and I know many persons who have truly embraced humility for the sake of others. These examples tell us that as difficult as it may seem, it is possible with God’s grace to live the downward mobility which is the pattern of the incarnation, the pattern which Jesus our model chose to embrace. The embracing of humility as a habit of Christian living can only lead us to that for which we have been made, partnership with Christ in the work of salvation and the happiness which that partnership brings even here on earth. As we begin the celebration of this, the most important feast of our Christian calendar, let us meditate on the humility of Jesus our master and model and what this demands of us in our daily lives.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, all through the passion and the cross your Son revealed himself as the suffering servant. Be with us your disciples as we live celebrate the Triduum of Holy week. As we meditate on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus help us to remember that You were there also with the Spirit sustaining your Son and transforming the suffering pain and death into New Life. As we live our own Crosses, help us to accept them with humility, imitating the downward mobility of your Son so that our Crosses may be transformed into New Life. We ask this through the intercession of Mary who stood faithfully at the foot of the cross and Jesus your Son. Amen
