Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Readings:  Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56

Today all Catholics throughout the world turn their hearts and minds once again to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. That suffering won for all humankind the definitive victory over sin and hopelessness – a victory we declare and celebrate with these palm branches, the ancient world’s symbol of triumph.

God is all-powerful. He could have chosen to save us from sin in many other ways. Why did he choose to do it by suffering? What is the meaning of the Passion? The Passion tells us with perfect clarity the message we most need to hear. The Passion of Our Lord says to us: God is faithful; you can trust him. Trusting God is the most important thing for us, but it’s also the hardest, because our trust has been violated.

The Passion is God saying to us: “No matter what you do, I will keep on loving you. I will never let you down.” If we reject him, scourge him, crown him with thorns, betray him, even if we crucify him, he continues to love us: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” God’s love and faithfulness doesn’t depend on us being perfect, and it doesn’t depend on his whims. He will never take it back. We can trust him – completely.

That’s the message of the Passion. And it’s the message that each of us, wounded and sinful as we are, most needs to hear.