April 2, 2023 - Palm Sunday

Jesus is humbly obedient to his mission. 

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week, the days in the Church year when we celebrate Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Before we get to Easter, though, the Church invites us to ponder the meaning of Jesus’ death. And we should start by recognizing that his death was neither an accident nor was it an unfortunate misunderstanding. No, Jesus was murdered by the religious and political leaders of his time who would not tolerate his challenges to their greed, power, and hypocrisy. Jesus’ words and actions made them angry, and they initiated actions to bring about his demise.

For example, in the first Gospel reading, we hear Jesus planning a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This procession gets the entire city’s attention. We don’t hear the next part of the story in today’s Gospel, but it’s important. With everyone’s eyes on him, Jesus enters the temple area and drives out the animal vendors and the money changers. These actions challenge the temple officials’ greedy abuse of the people’s religious observance. This so angers the temple officials that they plot Jesus’ death, which we hear unfold in the second Gospel reading about Jesus’ passion and death.

Jesus was aware that his actions would probably lead to his suffering and death. This did not mean that he had a death wish. Rather, as the second reading proclaims, Jesus was being obedient to his mission to preach and make present the kingdom of God. Jesus was faithful to this mission whether it was convenient or inconvenient, whether it would be well received or poorly received. He would not turn away from his mission even if it meant torture and death.

And Jesus did all of this with great humility. For Jesus, it was never about looking important or being famous. As the reading from Philippians proclaims, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. As a sign of this humility, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, he doesn’t ride a war horse like the rulers of the time, but a humble donkey, the beast of burden used by the lowly.

Jesus’ willingness to accept suffering and even death is part of his saving work. His obedience should inspire us to stay faithful to our mission to proclaim the kingdom of God. This means loving others, even when they don’t return our love. It means speaking the truth, even when others do not want to hear it. It means asking for forgiveness when we have been wrong. It means caring for others, even when that is difficult or inconvenient. And it means doing all of these things with humility. It isn’t easy, but Jesus does not leave us alone in our efforts. Every time we come to the Eucharistic table, he gives himself to us, strengthening us to follow his example.