We approach Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I have celebrated this day many times in my life. And each year as it comes along, I remark what a wide range of images and emotions it includes. Perhaps at times it has struck me as even a bit odd in that swing of emotions.
What do we do? How do we observe it? In a typical parish setting, we begin our liturgy at the church entrance, or perhaps even outside. We listen to the Gospel reading about Jesus entering the city.
There is a note of triumph. The people acclaim him because of his reputation as a preacher and wonder-worker. And yet he comes with a certain note of humility. He comes riding on a donkey, and not on a warhorse, like a victorious king.
We are reminded of another donkey, upon which his mother rode on the way to Bethlehem, still pregnant with Jesus. His humble origins now have led to this humble arrival into the city.
We sing “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and we process into the church, carrying our palm branches.
Soon we listen to the readings of the day. The mood quickly turns somber. We hear of Isaiah as the suffering servant, pre-figuring Jesus by many centuries. We are reminded in the second reading how Jesus “emptied himself” to come among us in the Incarnation.
And then there is the reading of the Passion account. We feel the swing of emotions from the triumphant entry with the people praising Jesus, to perhaps some of the same people screaming for his blood. It seems to me an odd juxtaposition. Why do all this in one day, in one liturgy?
And yet, maybe that’s the point: the day collects a whole range of human emotions, reflecting the reality of how Jesus and his followers have been treated down through the ages. There has been great praise and celebration, and there has been fierce opposition and ridicule and persecution.
Once again, we are reminded that the Gospel is not about only Jesus; it is about us and our relationship with Jesus. How is our human experience reflected in the Gospel story? As we once again ponder the events of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, what is moved inside us? How is Jesus present to us? How are we present to Jesus, in ourselves and in our neighbor?
– Fr. Tom Zelinski
“the day collects a whole range of human emotions, reflecting the reality of how Jesus and his followers have been treated down through the ages” To me this is like today’s confusion of cultural clashes (if they can be called that) even within our Church, who are strangers and who is being blocked out of our Church or at “not seen” . We have to keep going back to Jesus’s teaching, it is the only way ……………..
Thank you Father Zelinski
Thank you Fr Tom for this wake up call as we approach Palm Sunday and holy week. And reminding us of all the questions this time implies. Will we be the hypocrites that cry Messiah, and ignore jesus’s teachings or lead him to crucifixion? Palm Sunday alerts me that holy week is here, and it is time to really be with Christ and his passion. That should not really end with holy week should it though? Many good thoughts to think about this week, thank you!