Palm Sunday

Gospel – Matthew 21:1-11

Journey/Destination

Walking the Palm Sunday Road

When I was little and growing up in the country in Southern Maryland, there were a lot of times, mostly Sunday afternoons, when we would all pile into the car and go visit family.  We would always sit together on the front porch, share tea and cookies and conversation.  Needless to say, as a child, I was only interested in the cookies, not the adults’ conversation.  But if there were any cousins home, then we would use the time to play together.  And every place we went was warm and welcoming. 

Welcomes!!  This is what we hear in the Gospel for Palm Sunday.  Jesus, entering the city of Jerusalem, welcomed like a rock star – people laying down their cloaks and branches like a red carpet.  People yelling Hosanna to welcome the Son of David.  Cheering Him on like it was a parade for winning the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup. And yet, only 5 days later, Jesus will be leaving the city of Jerusalem in a much different circumstance.  Beaten and bloody, crowned with thorns, carrying a wooden cross and jeered at and mocked by the same crowd.  Leaving Jerusalem like a condemned criminal heading to His execution, an object of shame and derision.

I think we can all agree – life can be a roller coaster – ups and downs, highs and lows, joy and pain. Just last week, I traveled back to Chicago – it was NOT a smooth/happy experience!  My first flight was canceled, my rescheduled flight had delay after delay after delay – not because of weather or some mechanical issue but lack of a full flight crew.  We needed someone to journey with us, guide and protect us along the way. What began with a scheduled arrival of 9am ended with an arrival of 11pm!  What a journey! So much for a warm welcome! But that didn’t diminish the goal – celebrating Native Stations at Holy Name Cathedral and ‘deaconing’ school Mass and Confirmation Mass at SRB with my 2 ‘sponsees’.  As rough as the journey might have been, in the end, it was the destination that mattered the most!

We are entering the holiest week of the liturgical year.  In 7 days, we will end the season of Lent and celebrate the joy of Easter, Jesus’ Resurrection, the core of our faith! 

Jesus’ journey begins today.  It will not be an easy one by any stretch of the imagination.  It begins today with a heartfelt and enthusiastic welcome to the city of Jerusalem.  It seems to end with pain and suffering at Calvary.  But we know that is not the end, the final destination. The journey doesn’t end with Good Friday; it’s Easter Sunday!  The cross on Golgotha is not the end of the journey; it’s the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning!  And our faith journey doesn’t end with death but with life!