Homily for Palm Sunday

March 20, 2005

 

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

     My homily today will be brief as we have had the opportunity to listen to the account of the Passion of Jesus according to St. Matthew.  Thoughts of the cross must have been far off the day Jesus and his followers entered Jerusalem triumphant and joyful.  Was this a breakthrough for the mission?  The crowd appeared to be supportive, but one could never really tell.

      However, by the time they celebrated Passover just a few days later, only the twelve remained...

And even among these there was betrayal.  Jesus sensed that even those who vowed steadfast loyalty would be tried and found wanting.  Peter swore “even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.”  But Jesus knew how fragile discipleship had become as the reality of the cross loomed ever closer.

      How fragile will our commitment to discipleship become this week as we come face to face with the memory of the cross and all that it asks of us?  One theologian says of Jesus, “When the cross came, Christ refused to flee, refused to temporize, refused to abandon his proclamation and his witness, crucify him though it might.”  Can we hope to respond in such a way?  We pray during this holiest of weeks for the strength to persevere not only for our own sakes but for the life of the world all the while knowing how fragile discipleship is!

 

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