In a very real way, Jesus Christ, the Son of God has traded places with us. The innocent has traded places with the guilty. All throughout St. Luke’s Passion account, for example, the innocence of Jesus is announced for all to hear. At the very end of the Passion, a Roman Centurion knows this and says, “Surely this was an innocent man.”
Earlier, in the same account, the religious leader Herod Antipas knew the same and sent Jesus back to Pilate. That civil leader, Pilate, knew it too and said so, “There is no charge against Him. He has done nothing to deserve death.” A criminal crucified beside Him proclaims the innocence of Jesus as well. Again, at the very end, the Roman Centurion knows it and says it. What are we to make of all of this?
The innocent One has died so that the guilty may live! Our celebration of Palm Sunday invites us to ponder how and why God would be willing and able to trade places with us. It invites us to consider how and why Jesus would suffer like a guilty one in order for us to share the life of the innocent One. That is what has happened: the innocent Son gave up His life in order to redeem and restore us to our proper dignity as the children of God. There is much here to wonder about, and even more here to be grateful for.
Let us pray. “Almighty ever-living God, who allowed the Savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may follow His example and so come to share in His Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.
