Homily for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Welcome to the threshold of the holiest week of our entire year.

We began our liturgy today in a spirit of triumph and joy. We held palm branches in our hands and sang glad hosannas. We welcomed our Lord into Jerusalem as a victorious king.

But the tone of our worship shifted very quickly. We moved from the joyful procession into the stark and sobering reality of the Passion narrative. We went from cheering the Messiah to standing in the shadow of the cross.

This emotional whiplash is entirely intentional. The Church desires us to experience the fickleness of the human heart. We are forced to see how quickly the cheering crowds turned against the Son of God.

This rapid change invites us to look closely at a central theme in our readings today. It is the profound contrast between human pride and divine humility. It is the eternal battle between grasping for control and completely surrendering to the will of God.

Saint Paul provides the theological key to understanding this mystery. In our second reading from his letter to the Philippians he offers us an ancient and beautiful hymn. He tells us something breathtaking about the nature of God.

Saint Paul writes that Jesus Christ was in the form of God. Yet He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped at. He did not cling to the privileges of His divine majesty.

Instead our Lord emptied Himself. He took the form of a slave and came in human likeness. The Greek word Saint Paul uses for this self emptying is kenosis.

This word describes a total pouring out of oneself for the sake of another. Jesus set aside His heavenly glory to enter the dirt and the mess of our human condition. He embraced perfect obedience even to the point of death on a cross.

Dear friends, this divine self emptying is the exact opposite of our fallen human nature. Ever since the garden of Eden humanity has struggled with the temptation to grasp. We want to seize power and elevate ourselves.

We are born into this world with clenched fists. We constantly try to control our surroundings and our futures. We hold tightly to our possessions and our reputations and our own comfort.

When we listen to the long Passion narrative from the Gospel of Matthew we see the tragic results of this grasping. We see a parade of historical figures who chose their own will over the will of God.

Consider the tragic figure of Judas Iscariot. He grasped at thirty pieces of silver. He wanted a political revolutionary who would overthrow the Roman occupation.

When Jesus did not fit his worldly expectations Judas betrayed Him. Judas tried to force God to align with his own agenda. His grasping led only to isolation and ultimate despair.

Think about the apostle Peter warming himself by the fire in the courtyard. Peter loved the Lord deeply. But in that moment of crisis he grasped at his own safety and self preservation.

When challenged by a simple servant girl he denied even knowing Jesus. He swore an oath that he had no connection to the man on trial. Fear caused Peter to close his hands and protect his own life.

Look at the Roman governor Pontius Pilate sitting in his headquarters. He knew that Jesus was an innocent man handed over out of pure envy. But Pilate grasped at his political power and his desperate need for public approval.

He literally washed his hands of the situation to protect his career. He chose the comfort of the status quo over defending the incarnate Truth standing right in front of him.

Even the crowds in Jerusalem grasped at a false idea of deliverance. They wanted a violent rebel who would solve their immediate earthly problems. So they demanded the release of the murderer Barabbas and condemned the Prince of Peace.

My dear friends, amidst all of this selfish grasping stands Jesus Christ. He is the only one in the entire narrative who is completely free. He is free because He has surrendered absolutely everything to the Father.

The prophet Isaiah painted a vivid picture of this surrender centuries earlier. In our first reading we heard the voice of the Suffering Servant. He says the Lord God has given him a well trained tongue.

But notice that this gift is not meant for giving grand speeches or winning arguments. The prophet says it is given so that he might know how to speak to the weary.

Jesus speaks to the weary of this world from the wood of the cross. He speaks a word of ultimate solidarity with every person who suffers. He tells us that we are never alone in our pain or our feelings of abandonment.

The Suffering Servant of Isaiah speaks of radical obedience. He says he gave his back to those who beat him and his cheeks to those who plucked his beard. He did not shield his face from buffets and spitting.

Jesus fulfills this prophecy perfectly during His bitter passion. When He is mocked and scourged He does not strike back. When He is crowned with thorns He does not call down legions of angels to destroy His enemies.

We see the depth of this surrender most clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus experiences overwhelming sorrow and distress. The human terror of the cross presses heavily upon His soul.

He falls on His face and prays that the cup of suffering might pass from Him. Yet He immediately adds the most important words ever spoken by a human being. He says not as I will but as you will.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us of a beautiful truth about this surrender. It teaches that Jesus substituted His obedience for our disobedience. Where we fail and rebel He offers perfect submission to the Father.

Saint Augustine of Hippo offers a profound reflection on this contrast between human pride and divine humility. He taught that it was pride that caused Adam to grasp at the forbidden fruit in the garden.

Adam wanted to be a god on his own terms. But it was humility that caused Christ to submit completely to the Father. Christ allowed His hands to be nailed wide open on the wood of the cross.

Saint Augustine shows us that Jesus healed the grasping of Adam through the letting go of Calvary. The tree of Eden brought death but the tree of the cross brings eternal life.

This reality confronts each of us today with a very challenging question. We must ask ourselves where we are grasping in our own lives right now. Where are our fists tightly clenched?

Perhaps you are holding onto a deep resentment against a family member or a coworker. You grasp at anger because it makes you feel powerful or justified. Jesus is asking you to unclench your fists and offer forgiveness.

Maybe you are grasping at control over your children or your financial security. You live in a constant state of anxiety because you cannot dictate every single outcome. The Lord is inviting you to open your hands and trust in His providence.

We might be clinging to our pride and our need to always be right. We refuse to admit our faults or go to the sacrament of reconciliation. Christ shows us today that true strength is found in humble vulnerability and surrender.

Today you will take blessed palm branches home with you. Many of us will tuck them behind a crucifix or a holy picture in our living rooms. Let those dried branches serve as a daily reminder throughout the year.

They should remind us not to be like the fickle crowd in Jerusalem. They should remind us to remain steadfast in our love for God even when life becomes incredibly difficult. They call us to a loyalty that outlasts the cheering.

We cannot achieve this kind of surrender on our own human strength. We are too weak and too prone to selfishness. We need the grace that flows directly from the pierced side of Christ.

This is exactly why we gather at this altar to celebrate the Eucharist today. The Mass is the living memorial of this self emptying love. It is the real presence of the Lord who gave everything for us.

On the night before He died Jesus took bread and broke it. He did not hoard His divine life or protect His own majesty. He poured Himself out completely into the simple elements of bread and wine for our salvation.

When you come forward in a few moments to receive Holy Communion pay attention to your physical posture. You must come with open hands or an open mouth. You literally cannot receive the body of Christ with closed fists.

That physical act of receiving must become the spiritual posture of our entire lives. We must become a people of open hands. We must allow God to empty us of our selfishness so He can fill us with His grace.

Brothers and sisters the