How quickly things can change, and how fickle people can be! We begin our worship today with the joyous arrival of Jesus in the holy city of Jerusalem like a king coming in peace astride a colt with palm branches waving and the crowd chanting words forever enshrined in our Eucharistic celebrations: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Then, we end our readings from Scripture today with Jesus having been betrayed and tortured, denied, mocked and crucified. Some people are uncomfortable that we hang crosses with the lifeless body of our Savior on them in our churches and in our homes. This gives the impression to some that we are fixated on the death of our Lord and don’t recognize or believe in the resurrection.
But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we are in awe of our God, and the lengths to which our Creator was willing to go to prove his love for every last person who ever has – or ever will – walk the face of the earth. From the greatest saint to the greatest sinner, salvation is ours for the taking, if only we turn to follow the way of the Lord.
We fully believe in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. We fully understand that his life did not end on the cross. We live the paschal mystery each day of our lives, striving to embrace the passion, the death and the resurrection of Jesus. In fact, that is why we come here. We come to intentionally reawaken in our hearts and minds this mystery every time we celebrate Eucharist with one another. But, we also understand there is no resurrection without first embracing the cross of salvation.
When difficulties emerge in our lives, we need only look toward the nearest crucifix. For in that glance, we realize we are never alone in our adversity. Jesus is ever present to us, proving every day his undying love for us. When we wonder why God would have his son suffer and die in such a demeaning and painful way, we are reminded that it was so that we could be assured that, no matter how bad our struggles are, Jesus can accompany us; his struggles were even worse.
That is the message we have to share with our fractured world. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life for all. If all of us who profess to follow Christ crucified live our faith with joy, and live our lives pleasing unto the Lord, the world in which we live could be healed of much of its pain and suffering.
The cross of Christ leads to the empty tomb, but it is not the end. Our lives proclaim that we trust the promise that Jesus’ way is the way that leads to everlasting life and endless joy in God’s loving embrace. Let us accompany Jesus this Holy Week as we prepare to share in the joy of the Resurrection!