"FIRST IMPRESSIONS" PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION

(Luke 19: 28-40) Is. 50: 4-7 Philippians 2: 6-11 Luke 22: 14- 23:56

By: Jude Siciliano, OP

Dear Preachers:

Each gospel writer has his own way of presenting the Passion narrative. If we decide to preach from the passion narratives, Luke's today and John's on Good Friday, be sure to pay attention to the way each writer tells the story. These are not generic accounts with one preaching on a "theme" fitting either. One alternative is to give an overview, highlighting what is unique in the specific narrative. (This could be done as a brief introduction to the proclamation, thus allowing the congregation to bring more awareness to their hearing.) But, a word of caution, this approach risks becoming too general. Another is to focus on one segment of the narrative. Gerard Sloyan recommends giving a "serious consideration" to the entrance Gospel (Luke 19: 28-40). If we choose this preaching plan we might consider some of the following.

Luke's passion narrative begins with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, but we have been told from (19:28) that this was Jesus' intention. Luke's gospel has frequently spoken of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Today he enters the city-- from the east, the same direction as the sun's announcement of a new day. The old ways of thinking are going to be put aside. Death is no longer the end of all life; success no longer the valid measurement of the worth of human endeavor; power no longer has complete and lasting control over a people; violence no longer the way to deal with opposition. God can not be considered indifferent to human plight. Our suffering and cry for help have not fallen on deaf ears. God has heard us and has entered our "holy city", the place of defeat and pain and transformed them and personally confronted evil. Not on our terms with our expectations; but on God's terms and in God's way.

It looks as if the powers of Jerusalem are the winners in the events of this week and that Jesus is the loser. Each of us has a Jerusalem we must enter where we seem to be the losers. A place where the values we cherish are disregarded or trashed. Where is that place that we "enter" daily that opposes the good? Is it the corporate world? The political structures that defeat the disenfranchised? The classroom or academic world where we must "play the game" to win? Our very church where our voice is not heard? The world of high tech that broadens the gaps between the haves and the have-nots and robs the individual of his or her unique personality? The global scene of economic domination and subservience? It is to these places we go and are asked to take up the cross of Jesus and die: to challenge the powers is to risk death or loss of some kind. We all follow Jesus into the city today. We watch with him this week, identify with his loss and experience the new life his death and resurrection bring. The suffering servant of Isaiah and Jesus are of the same cloth, they listen to God and speak to the weary, despite the consequences. Like the wandering Jews in the desert, each day both are sustained; each day God speaks and they respond. Today we also celebrate all those who have spoken out for those without voice, comforted them and suffered the consequences.

What are we waving our palms about this day? Certainly not because of a lack of suffering in the world or any great triumph of good over evil. The good do not escape suffering. The suffering servant in the Isaiah passage(and Jesus in the Gospel) today reminds us of that . Here is the good person who is being beaten and mocked for being faithful to God and for speaking to those who are weary an encouraging word from God. So many in our world undergo suffering: some for their faith and their commitment to God; others due to the ravages of disease, environment, aging, family conflict, etc. There seems to be a contradiction in this day; we celebrate the God of glory and the God of suffering.

All religious traditions have had to struggle with what to say about suffering. What do you say to a 78 year old mother who just lost her daughter to cancer? Or a man dying of emphysema who cries out, "What did I do to deserve this?" Suffering because of the evils we do is one thing, but what do you say to innocent suffering? We are standing by this week, spectators, to see what God is going to do about sin and suffering. We don't have an explanation today, but we do have an announcement. Our proclamation is that God has entered our human pain and walks the same path we must walk. When Jesus was being tempted (cf. first Sunday of Lent), he was taken by the devil to the parapet of the temple and told to throw himself down, for God would surely spare him any pain or injury. Jesus resisted that temptation and now he is being called upon to be faithful to his mission and to suffer the consequences. We have no easy answer to human suffering, but the glory of God shines out for us this week. God doesn't stay aloof from our pain, away on some high place, but joins us in suffering.

Because Jesus enters the Holy City today every place where we suffer becomes a holy city, a place that God visits and has shared with us. That is the glory of God made visible for us these days. Moses was told to take off his shoes at the burning bush because it was holy ground. From this point of the Gospel, the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, we too should take off our shoes and worship, for we have arrived on holy ground. What the excited spectators don't know on this day of Jesus' entrance into the Holy City is what happened later in the week before dawn. What they knew was what their eyes and ears told them, first there was the triumph and the hope for a deliverance from the oppression of their captives and the miserable conditions of their lives. Then their was the crushing of their hopes with Jesus' defeat and the dispersal of his once enthusiastic followers. What they couldn't possibly have known on this day of entrance to their city was what would happen during the early morning hours of the first day of the next week. In the dark, before Mary Magdalen could get to the tomb, the darkness of all of our lives would be overcome by the powerful deed of God's raising Jesus from the dead. Light would come from darkness, life from catastrophe, hope from despair. From that moment on, despite all appearances, no power would have ultimate power over good. The promise is made--- evil will be defeated This means no matter how shattering our life experiences may be, one has a reason to hope against hope.

The Christian preacher should be careful not to paint the Jewish leaders in harsh terms. This gospel was written out of the strife between the early Christians and their former Jewish brothers and sisters. That polemic enters these narratives, but should not be stressed. Avoid tones of anti-Semitism. One approach might be to take the Jewish leaders' perspective in your preaching. What must have it been like for a devout Jew to live under a pagan military presence, relying on Roman indulgence for the practice of one's faith? How unsettling and dangerous Jesus would seem to such persons. They would have grown anxious that this seeming impious and untrained lay preacher would upset the applecart and force the Roman authorities to clamp down on all the Jewish people. Thus terminating whatever limited religious liberties they had. As it turned out, Jesus was executed by the Roman authorities as a potential troublemaker.

Sometime this week, with its accounts of the execution of Jesus, the preacher may choose to preach on the death penalty in our country. We are the only industrialized nation to still execute people. Some of our states seem to be in a race to outdo each other in the number of executions they perform. Meanwhile recent releases of inmates from death row, due to new evidence that proved them innocent, the suspension of executions in Illinois and the call by many city municipalities for a moratorium on executions, have raised the issue of the many injustices involved in this practice. If you need information your diocesan peace and justice office would be one source and of course the internet has ample material on web pages dedicated to the topic. One such web page is provided by our North Carolina ecumenical group, "People of Faith Against the Death Penalty." www.netpath.net/~ucch/pfadp

ONE GOOD BOOK FOR THE PREACHER:

A CRUCIFIED CHRIST IN HOLY WEEK: ESSAYS ON THE FOUR GOSPEL PASSION NARRATIVES, by Raymond E. Brown. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1989. Paper, 72 pages.

An eminent biblical scholar reflects on the four Passion narratives. His strong pastoral interests come through these very readable essays. Good for preachers. Also good for those who want to do some meditative reading during Holy Week.

QUOTABLE:

The Lukan "Palm Sunday gospel" has the same twofold theme as the Philippians hymn, abasement joined to exaltation. The difference is that the exaltation is anticipated by Luke despite the fact that he knows of the humiliations in store for Jesus (see 18: 32-33). But the rejoicing of modern congregations will fittingly match that of the Jerusalem disciples because they know that joyous outcome of the days that are upon them. It is impossible on this day not to know that the forces of evil have been met and have been overcome.

Gerard S. Sloyan in, PROCLAMATION 4: HOLY WEEK. SERIES C. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988, page 19.

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Thank you.

Blessings on your preaching,

Jude Siciliano, O.P., Promoter of Preaching, Southern Dominican Province, USA

P.O. Box 12927, Raleigh, N.C. 27605, (919) 833-1893, Email: judeop@juno.com