Homily for Palm Sunday Year A Readings; MT 21:1-11, IS 50:4-7, PHIL 2:6-11, MT 26:14—27:66

We see today in the Passion of Christ the humility of God. The scenario unfolds where an all powerful God would have been able to stop whatever happened to Christ that we will hear not only today but at the services of Holy Week.

 

Jesus humbly submits himself to the secular authority that was in Jerusalem in order for us to be forgiven our sins. These included Caiaphas, Pilate and all of those present who called for him to be crucified. The humility was in sharp contrast to the pride which was shown by the authorities. This ultimate humility also shows a difference between how humans act in comparison to God.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said: “A key point in which God and man differ is pride: in God, there is no pride, for he is wholly fullness and is wholly oriented to loving and giving life instead in we human beings pride is deeply rooted and requires constant vigilance and purification. We, who are small, aspire to appear great, to be among the first, whereas God who is truly great is not afraid of humbling himself and putting himself last” (Angelus, September 23, 2012)

This pride shows up in the divisions that we see in society today. The thought from one side is they are right, and no one on the opposite side can convince them otherwise. Logic and facts have no bearing on the conversations. There is also no difference based on which side of the conversation we discuss. This requires us to rekindle our faith in Christ.

Saint Pope John Paul II once wrote: “It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent.  Rather, faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments and a truth to be lived out.  A word, in any event, is not truly received until it is put into practice.  Faith is a decision involving one’s whole existence.  It is an encounter, a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.  It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enables us to live as he lived, in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters” (Veritatis Splendor, 88).

If we live in this way, we can show the humility of Christ and show our love for one another and be able to listen to those of opposing views and find out the basis of their beliefs. When we do this, we may find that their actual needs and wants are little different than our own. There is simply a difference in how we would like to obtain the desired outcome.

When we listen with an open heart and open mind, we get to listen with the humility that is required for us to believe in one another as Christ believes in each of us. We need to be vigilant in our faith so as not to shut out those who may be trying to tell us we are wrong. To be vigilant we need strength and that strength can be found in the Eucharist we will soon consume.

When we use this power to show the humility which Christ shows is to allow others to see what the world would be like if we all spoke freely, openly and honestly about our differences. This could lead to an entirely new conversation that may lead to a more warm and welcoming society.

We have seen the Pharisees were not willing to engage in this type of conversation. Christ and his teachings did not fit their narrative so it was wrong and they would justify their view using any argument they could come up with to fit their narrative. We can all fall into that trap at one time or another. Christ’s humility shows us the way in which we can avoid that trap.

With this strength and knowledge let us go forth showing the Christian way of life and what it truly means. Let it help us to overcome our pride and accept our current circumstances, whether they be good or bad, with humility and grace.