Palm Sunday - April 2, 2023

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Matthew 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Matthew 26:14 - 27:66 

Palm Sunday always begins with an account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem for the last time. Although much of his ministry seems to take place in the towns surrounding Jerusalem – in Bethany and Jericho, Capernaum and Magdala, Zephora and Samaria, and along the shores of the Galilean Sea - since Jesus was a child (Lk. 2:41ff ) he has traveled to the City on a Hill for the great feast days of his faith. 

In preparation for this reflection, I’ve been meditating on this well-known scene of Jesus entering the Holy City on a donkey, welcomed with praise from the crowds, palms waving in the air. I close my eyes and hear the sound of Mariam’s tambourine and songs to Hosanna in the Highest. I feel bodies pressing up against me; all of us in this together, all of us here to see Jesus. I recall a School of Religion lesson by parishioner Phil Major where he compared Jesus’ entry to how a Roman military hero would have entered a capital city like this – high on their horse, armed to the teeth. But not Jesus! Still, we all know how this pilgrimage will end…with death, “even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). 

But it is today’s Psalm that stands out at this particular moment in my Catholic piety. It is the ever-present drumbeat that accompanies moments of anxiety, disappointment, and betrayal. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Ps. 22) Is Jesus demanding that God answer for his suffering? No. Instead, I like to imagine he is reciting a beloved Hebrew lamentation along with the few disciples gathered at the foot of his cross. When I have cried out to God with feelings of abandonment, God has answered me. God’s answer? Jesus himself. Through him, God enters into the suffering with me. With him, God expresses care and concern for my little life. In him, God raises me out of darkness and despair and gives me a new life, a new perspective, a new mission, a new path to follow, a new friend to accompany me. 

Q: Has God answered my cries of despair and abandonment? What was God’s answer?

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