Palm Sunday 2009 Reflection

In truth this man was a son of God
A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2009
Based on the Readings from Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org

‘Abba (Father)!’ he said ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” These words cried out by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane should be a constant reminder to us that it is alright to ask God to lift a burden from us. The Gospel reading for this Sunday of the three year cycle is from Mark 14 and it tells of the events leading up to and through the passion and death of Christ.One curious passage in the Gospel relates an incident that many choose to overlook and it is just one line long it is part of the story that tells how the disciples and apostles abandoned Christ. “And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.” The symbolism here is clear to me that we are naked and exposed by our actions. So many try to hide their dirty laundry with fancy clothes but before God we are all seen naked for exactly who we are. The Gospel story today is a telling of the entire passion and a different story than the celebration that Palm Sunday commemorates, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where we hear the people shouting; “Hosanna! Blesses is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later were in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from officials of the temple. Further on in the Gospel reading it is related how Christ Called out “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” which, I believe , allows us the right to ask the same of God when we feel He might have abandoned us. The essence and the truth is summed up in the words of the centurion who witnessed Christ crucifixion and death on the cross, “In truth this man was a son of God”.Paul’s letter to the Philippians sums up the essence of Christ’s life, “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Over the last few years books and movies have attempted to raise questions about Jesus Christ’s life and soon a new movie is coming out that follows up on THE DIVINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD-HOLY GRAIL AND THE LOST GOSPELS. Some claim they should change our beliefs concerning Christ and our Faith. The truth is Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. Christ was sent to earth by God to save all people of the world, not a select few. All these so called new discoveries and stories should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief in Almighty God. They change nothing about the main facts. Who cares if Christ had a relationship with Mary of Magdala, the fact is Christ was a real person and proclaimed a new covenant with God which carried on and followed that made with Moses. All the numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” All based on writings of the early Christians; in many cases, they support what is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels we know are the Gospels accepted, mainly on the advice and writings of St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons about the year 180, who called the other Gospels “Heresies”. The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge. That is true also, Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God. Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:6-9) None of these “recent” findings change a thing. The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the road to salvation to us. Even if the most recent “Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, Gnostic scholars conclude Jesus meant “by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas would act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.” During this Week, let us stop the dissentions that separate all who believe in Jesus Christ and work together to come together as the one family of Christ. Let’s begin living the message of Jesus Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely faithful to Almighty God and Jesus Christ proclaim loudly, “HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! AMEN