How did Jesus save us? Was it by way of what He suffered and died for us? Was it because He made the ultimate sacrifice? Was it not because, in the words of the Second Reading for the Mass of Palm Sunday (from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians), he “emptied himself” totally and in so doing became filled with the Spirit of his Father? He clung to nothing; He let go of everything. Don’t most of us find this so hard to do?
At the moment of His death, St. Matthew says that Jesus “released the spirit.” It is a way of saying that He breathed His last breath and died. But it also has the other meaning that the life, sufferings, and death of Jesus, when properly understood, released a power into the world, the power of the Spirit of God, a Spirit with which Jesus Himself was filled. Jesus’ first followers would soon become filled with that Spirit also.
Although the Passion account for Palm Sunday says, “they all fled and were scattered,” Jesus’ first disciples, energized by the power of their Lord and Master, would go through similar experiences to His. They, like Jesus in the garden, were filled with fear but, later on, they would be filled with a great courage and joy. No matter who threatened them, no matter that they were thrown into jail, or that members of their communities were murdered and executed, they would continue to preach fearlessly the Gospel of Truth and Love. The death of Jesus, which we commemorate this day and this week, was not (in the end) a sign of failure. It was Jesus’ moment of triumph and victory! The same can be said of the long line of martyrs and witnesses over 2,000 years.
So, as we participate (in a new and unique way this year!) in the liturgy of Holy Week, let us not concentrate simply on the sufferings of Jesus as if there was something good about suffering. Those sufferings only have meaning because they lead to resurrection, new life, and new joy. The pain and sufferings of our lives are not the punishments of God, still less are they to be sought out. Suffering, pain, sickness, and the many hardships which we presently know because of the coronavirus are not in themselves desirable. They become, however, sources of good when they help us to become more mature, more loving, more caring, more sympathetic people — in other words, when they lead us to be more like Jesus Himself and when they lead to our own freedom and the freedom of others.
The Mass at Holy Cross will be available for viewing and participation on Sunday morning, April 6th.
Please come to the church parking lot after 10am Sunday to retrieve blessed palms for placement in your home!
