Palm Sunday

04-09-2017Weekly ReflectionFr. Chauncey Winkler

Dear Parish Family,

Today we carry palms. We wave them to welcome Jesus the messiah to take his throne in Jerusalem. Let us not miss how close we are to those who first waved these palms. We share thesame human nature and have the same need for this messiah to save us from our failings. In fact,we wave our palms together with them to welcome the same Jesus and proclaim him king of ourworld.

In every mass we offer God the Father a perfect sacrifice: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus,Son of God and perfectly innocent man. We never repeat the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Infact, it isn’t even possible that we could repeat it. Yet, it is truly this perfect sacrifice that we offerat every mass (to do anything less would just be an act of pretending). In every mass we arebrought to the passion, cross and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, God does not need totransport himself to where we are and place himself on our altar again and again. Instead, hebrings us to where he is. Time and space “bend” to keep us united to his saving action. (Or, if youprefer, he removes and obstacles that time and space might put between ourselves and him.) It isat the cross that we offer him to the Father as the only acceptable sacrifice or our guilt and sin. Itis at the empty tomb that we marvel at the resurrection together with those who are there.

In a similar way, we wave our palms today in Jerusalem to acclaim Jesus as our king in the midstof the boisterous crowd who has gathered. We are excited because we think that we will finallyhave a king who can heal us and feed us and teach us wisely. A king who will deliver us from allother unwanted powers in the world. We wave our palm and cry out in the mob. But we are alsofickle and just as easily turned against him because instead of saving us from what we don't likeabout the world, he came to save us from our own rebellious hearts and call us to repentance.

Our excitement is too easily turned to contempt and dismissal. While our voices in one momenthail him as our king, the next moment we are turned and call for his crucifixion. It is so importantthat we humbly recognize ourselves as one in the crowd rather than proudly pronounce that weare not like them. It is the faces in the crowd that Jesus looks on with love while riding into townon a colt. It is the faces in the crowd that he looks on with love while standing next to Pontius Pilot. It is the faces of the crowd that he looks on from the cross as he prays “Father, forgivethem, they know not what they do.” We are the people he looks on; we are.

Jesus offers himself for all of us. And, he means for us to be where he is.

Here we are. Let us be humble and remember.

  • Blessings +
  • Father Chauncey
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