Processional Readings ABC:
·
Matthew
21:1-11;
Homily Palm Sunday Year ABC: Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
Mark
11:1-10; or John 12:12-16,
·
Luke 19:28-40.
Christ’s
Humble Journey to Jerusalem,
Every year brings something new, some
changes in our bodies, in our homes, families, villages, towns, in our
local churches, Counties, local governments and nations! And in each of these
changing years, the Church celebrates Palm Sunday which ends the Lenten Season
and marks the beginning of the most Holy week in our Christian Liturgy.
It is a week our savior will be exalted on the Cross. It is a week of that hour
of glory come to fulfillment. In this Holy Week Christ, our Lord and Savior,
Son of God will be betrayed, falsely accused, plotted against (John 11:45-53),
arrested (Matt 26:47-56), interrogated by Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin (
Matt 26:57-58), tried by Pilate ( Matt 27:1-14), denied by Peter (Matt
26:59-66), mocked and executed in a Roman way (Matt 27:15-56). In this
very week Christ our savior, will draw everyone to himself, Jews and the
Gentiles alike, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea (John 12:32). It is a Holy
and Salvific Week of grace, hope and victory over death. It’s a Week of victory
over violent, injustices of our time, lies and hatred. It is a week we see new
life in the death of Christ. It is a teaching week for our religious
communities, families, homes and nations!
It is a week we also learn to resist evil not with violence, not by chopping off “Malchus’ ear,” but with prayer, endurance and through peaceful process of dialogue and reconciliation. Holy Week is a week we all learn not to act like Pilate, remaining indifferent to truth nor being in a hurry to condemn our neighbors, brothers and sisters, friends and children. It is a week each of us is invited to the foot of the Cross. It is a week that Mary will be handed over to us, faithful disciples of Christ (John 19:25ff), as our mother and mediatrix of all graces.
It is a week we also learn to resist evil not with violence, not by chopping off “Malchus’ ear,” but with prayer, endurance and through peaceful process of dialogue and reconciliation. Holy Week is a week we all learn not to act like Pilate, remaining indifferent to truth nor being in a hurry to condemn our neighbors, brothers and sisters, friends and children. It is a week each of us is invited to the foot of the Cross. It is a week that Mary will be handed over to us, faithful disciples of Christ (John 19:25ff), as our mother and mediatrix of all graces.
The
Palms we bless at this Mass reminds us of many things, particulalarly of those
ordinary people, those pilgrims on the street of Jerusalem (those men, women
and children) who, sang the Hosanna” (Psalm 118:26; Mk 11:1-10 and Luke
19:28-40), who gave Christ such a royal
welcome to Jerusalem for his paschal
mystery( suffering, death and resurrection).
Christ entrance into Jerusalem reminds us of
the love that Christ has for each of us. It reminds us that each of us are also
on a pilgrimage to embrace Christ on daily journey, into our lives and
families, with enthusiasm and courage. Our
procession of course will take us to the table of the Eucharist, a place where
we encounter. A place where we receive him into our lives, homes and
communities.
Humility,
of course, is needed for this journey, to embrace Christ, to carry and spread the
palms, to be part of this Jerusalem pilgrimage. From that Gospel account
(s) he is the source of this humility. For choosing to suffer for us. For choosing ride
on that donkey not a horse. He is the King of peace, who arrives willingly,
with humility and love to Jerusalem on a donkey to die for us.
Inspired
by his love and humility lets begin our procession in peace, praising Jesus, our
Messiah, Son of God. As we process into the Church, into the “new church
Jerusalem,” let us sincerely and consistently welcome him into our lives,
homes, dioceses, and nations!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily Palm Sunday Year ABC: Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
Isa
50:4-7;
·
Ps
22:8-9, 17-18,19-20,23-24;
·
Phil
2: 6-11
·
and(A)
Matt 26:14–27:66
·
(B)
Mk 14:1–15:47
·
(C)
and Luke 22: 14–23:56
Palm Sunday And Christ's Victory over Death!
Palm
Sunday begins our Holy Week; a week of grace, love and Christ’s victory over
death. It is a week we line up on the streets of Jerusalem, in the corners of
our churches, offices, dioceses, worship centers and homes to welcome Christ. It
is a week we wholeheartedly refocus on Christ, the Suffering Servant/Son of God
(Mark), the Messiah (Matthew), the Savior of the world (Luke) and God’s
Incarnate sent to us by the Father (John). A Holy Week is a week we re-embrace
the gospels; and spread our palms of love and sing consistently with the
Church, “Hosanna to the Son of David…; the prince of peace, the trainer of
humility, unwavering courage, endurance and the source of hope!
The
meaning of this Week is equally uncovered in the long Passion
narratives of Christ, just proclaimed at this mass of Year B (Mark 14-15). Years A and C are from Matthew and Luke respectively.
Irrespective of the year, this Passion
narrative focuses on Christ and on the meaning of his unwavering
journey to the Cross that would eventually lead to his resurrection. Even though we have journeyed along way, thus far in our
Christian journeys, focusing on Christ, in our daily activities, this week we
are invited to intensify our focus on him.
In
this Holy Week we are encouraged to pay closer attention to that which Christ’s
gospel-passion teaches us: patience, humility, courage, love, endurance of betrayal
by friends an enemies; and forgiveness of their hurts, injuries, injustices;
offenses, abuses, discriminations, disappointments, calumnies, violence, misunderstandings, and bullies! This will lead
to the irony of the cross; the fulfilment of that gospels’ "hour of
glory" long foretold!
We
learn from this gospel passion Christ’s experience of betrayal from one of his
disciples, Judas Iscariot. Christ is falsely, accused,
plotted against (John 11:45-53), arrested (Matt 26:47-56), interrogated by
Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin (Matt 26:57-58), tried by the Roman Prefect,
Pilate (Matt 27:1-14), denied by Peter (Matt 26:59-66), mocked and executed in
a Roman way (Matt 27:15-56; Mark 14:115:47). How would you feel in any of this
circumstances?
Humanly
speaking, what we learn here looks ugly. But as Christians and believers, we
also learn that endurance pays off! Christ
endures his Passion; everything that went against him! He forgives
sinners especially that robber who was on the cross with him. He remembers
to entrust Mary, her mother, our mother to us and prays Psalm 22, “my God my
God why have you abandon me.”
We
must see some teaching moments in all this, even in what seems like a temporary
abandonment, humanly speaking, there is a divine-hidden presence! How do we handle our personal experiences of
pains, persecutions, poverty, failures, injustices, and seeming absence of God
in our lives? What happens when we are frustrated? In the case Christ, even at the end, his
prayer was, "Into your hands Lord I commend my Spirit. How often do
we commend our seeming failures into God’s hands, knowing that, a Holy God is
able to turn things around, as he does for his son Christ!
Ironically,
Christ dies a Holy death on the Cross in a Holy Week. In his Holy and Glorious death he
draws many people to himself: Jews and Gentiles, Nicodemus and Joseph of
Arimathea (John 12:32). Apart from his mother Mary’s presence at the foot of
the Cross, the Gospel Centurion, a witness
to Christ’s death and the tearing of the temple veil, cannot, but
believes and professes “Truly this man
was the Son of God” (Mark 15:1-39).
Today, and throughout this Holy Week, some of us may choose to be like this Centurion
reaffirming our faith in Christ, the true Son of God.
It
is a week we may also choose to learn to resist evil not with violence, not by
chopping off “Malchus’ ear,” as one of the gospel disciples did, but with
prayer, endurance and through peaceful process of dialogue and reconciliation.
This will make sense in today’ world, prone more to vengeance, war, violent,
terrorism, religious and ideological extremisms.
It is a week we may also learn not to act like
Pilate, remaining indifferent to truth nor being in a hurry to condemn our
neighbors, brothers and sisters, friends and children. It is a week each of us
is invited to the foot of the Cross, a week Mary will be handed over to us the
faithful disciples of Christ (John 19:25ff).
Christ’s
ironic and victorious journeys to the Cross we must not forget has been
foretold by many of Israel’ prophets as we learn in the 1st reading, the
Third Isaiah's Song of the Suffering Servant of YHWH. He gave his back with humility without resistance
to those who beat. He gave his cheek to those who plucked and his face to spitting
and mockeries (Isa 50:4-7).
It’s
a mockery, a Jerusalem journey, a Palm Sunday event familiar to Paul, Jewish
and Gentile Apostle of the paschal mysteries of Christ. The more reason we hear
Paul preach in the 2nd reading “Christ Jesus though he was
in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be
grasped…he became obedient to death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-11); for
each of us!.
May the gospel events of this Holy Week inspire each of
us to Christian victories through our obedience of faith, love, hope, endurance,
forgiveness, peace, patience, dialogue, humility, charity towards our neighbors
and nature planet!
Reflection
Questions:
1.
How do you relate to
the ironic and glorious events of Christ’s Jerusalem Journeys and gospel
passions?
2.
How do you react
when you are wrongly accused, mocked, persecuted, frustrated, terrorized or
feel abandoned?
3.
How do you help
members of your faith communities to trust in God and in the savings events, -
the victorious Cross of his Incarnate Son, Christ?
4.
What does Philippians
2:6-11 say to you personally?
5.
How do you discern
or help others to discern the hidden presence of God and lasting divine success
in moments of temporary failures!
