Today’s readings challenge us every day because we can recognize ourselves in so many of those involved in the events that we hear today. We sometimes find ourselves to be as fickle as the crowd in today’s gospel passages who, in one moment, joyously welcome Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem like a king with palm branches waving and chanting words forever enshrined in our Eucharistic celebrations – Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – and then, at another moment condemn Jesus to a cruel death on a cross. We are also often like the sleeping disciples, too complacent to spend time with the One who loves us. Like Judas, we can trade Jesus for lesser things: money or prestige or reputation. Like Peter, we may have denied Jesus when discipleship or the gospel felt inconvenient. We are often like the fleeing disciples when we avoid the crosses in our lives. Like Caiaphas, we have moments when we blame God for the woes we experience and demand answers. In Simon of Cyrene, we recognize the times we serve begrudgingly rather than eagerly out of love.
Even though our Lord’s passion leaves us convicted, it does not leave us condemned. Rather, it fills us with hope, identity and mission. The cross reveals our true worth to our heavenly Father as it demonstrates his unwavering love. Because of his love, our life stories are not defined by failure but by the God who raises the dead and promises resurrection to all who put their faith in him.
That is why the passion begins with the Eucharist. The Eucharist draws this unbelievable act of sacrificial love into the present moment. Every time we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, we are not only remembering Calvary – we are being reshaped by it. His Body strengthens what is weak in me. His Blood washes what is wounded in me. His real presence reorients my desires, my fears, and my true identity. What I cannot heal in myself, he heals in me. What I cannot carry by myself, he carries with me.
So, we stand before the cross not in shame but in gratitude. We leave here not as those who have failed but as those who have been redeemed. The sealed tomb is not the end of the gospel – the true end comes next week on Easter Sunday. The moments in our lives that have led us to misunderstand, abandon and even deny the Lord are the very moments when God has been preparing the Resurrection. Because of that, we can stand ready to take up our crosses and follow him, once again – imperfectly, yes, but with confidence that his grace is stronger than our weakness, his mercy deeper than any sin, and his love more faithful than our wanderings. Let us accompany Jesus this Holy Week as we prepare to share in sorrow of the cross and the joy of the Resurrection!