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He did it for us: Homily for Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018

He did it for us: Homily for Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018

Last updated on: March 25, 2018 at 7:46 am by Deacon Greg Kandra

He did it for us: Homily for Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018 2018-03-25T07:46:32-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

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We’ve been hearing it again and again the last several days: “I can’t believe it’s almost Easter.”

It seems like just last week we were singing carols and wrapping gifts and hearing once again the timeless story of how a newborn King came into the world and was forced to sleep in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn.

But here we are. The story, the greatest story ever told, reaches a painful and heartbreaking turn. The newborn King has become a man.

And we realize, with a stunning clarity, that the people of his own time still would not make room for him.

On a Sunday, they cheered “Hosanna!” On a Friday, they called “Crucify him!”

On a Sunday, he was showered with palms. On a Friday, he was crowned with thorns.

Those who loved him betrayed him.

Those who followed him denied him.

Those who praised him pierced him.

The infant whose back rested on the wood of the manger became a man whose bruised and bloodied back bore the wood of the cross.

When his life began, there was no room for him in the inn.

Decades later, there was no room for him in the human heart.

In some places today, that is still the case.

But as we reflect on the events of this week, we can’t lose sight of this humbling, consoling fact. This alone should bring us to our knees:

In spite of all that betrayal, all that pain, all that denial, all that blood, sweat and tears…Jesus did it anyway.

He did it out of love, a trascendent and redeeming love, that would change the world.

He did it for us. All of us.

He did it for all those who come into the world and face betrayal and denial and scourges and spit.

He did it for all those the world doesn’t make room for—the ones, like him, who are neglected or pushed aside or abandoned.

But we can’t forget: he also did it for all those who even today betray and deny, the ones who pick up the whips and hurl the spit and weave the crown of thorns.

He did it for the ones who crowd others out and keep them on the margins.

He did it, incredibly, for all of us.

We heard that familiar verse just two weeks ago:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

How much does God love the world?

He loves us enough to die for us.

He loves us enough to forgive us.

And he loves us enough to give himself to us again and again in the Eucharist we are about to receive.

As I mentioned at the beginning, it is the greatest story ever told—and also the greatest love story ever told.

But the great wonder—and miracle—is that it isn’t over.

Let this week we are beginning, this week we call “Holy,” challenge us to remember that the Passion was just the beginning.

There is still so much to tell.

And it is up to each of us to tell it.

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