Be Affected, Changed & Transformed
On Palm Sunday weekend we remember with PURPOSE. The purpose is to be affected, changed, and transformed by the events of Jesus’s whole life, including the final days of earthly life. Every character in the Passion Story is a potential representative of us.
The apostles, the colt/donkey owner, the family in whose house Jesus and the disciples ate their Passover meal, the members of the crowd that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, Judas, the crowd with clubs seeking Jesus’ arrest, the young man who ran away naked from the garden at Gethsemane, the chief priests, the elders, the scribes and Jewish religious leaders, the servants who named Peter as one of Jesus’ followers, Pontius Pilate, Pilate’s wife, Barabbas, King Herod, Simon the Cyrene, the men who nailed Jesus to the cross, the crowd that watched Jesus die, the Roman Centurion, the women who followed Jesus to his crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary the mother of Jesus…and so many other persons are those persons through whose eyes and ears we can enter the story of Jesus life, Passion, and death. At Easter we will want to enter his story of triumph over death, over the rejection of so many and the violence done to him.
Christianity adopts from Judaism the powerful activity of remembering the past for the purpose of feeling, knowing, and experiencing it in the present. As the Jews remember Passover, so we Christians through the Eucharist remember the sacrifice of love that Jesus gave to us. He chose to remain true to his words, actions, and relationships, as well as to the love, healing and forgiveness he offered to so many people. He did not retract a word or action in order to save himself. Instead, he said let my life stand as a testament to the poor, the downtrodden, the sinner, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, the sick…- to his sisters and brothers. His loyalty to them, to us, is AWESOME! He saves all not just by dying, but by living with integrity, by fidelity to the demands of love.
“Do this in memory of me,” is an invitation to remember and be changed by his WHOLE life. In the Eucharist we remember and state our commitment with our AMEN to the Body and Blood of Christ, that we will be persons of integrity, too. How is that going for you?
Peace, Fr. Andy