Passion (Palm) Sunday

Matthew 21 : 1 - 11; Phil. 2 : 6 - 11

Your attitude must be that of Christ........he emptied himself....

Waving of palm branches to greet Jesus.......singing alleluias with the crowds......marking the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. What a scene over two thousand years ago. What a scene in our churches as Sunday after Sunday we sing praise songs to our Lord. But the kind of triumph that the people imagined and that we imagine today as we sing praise was/is so different from that which Jesus came to accomplish.

Of course Jesus' mission was not complete at that historical point on Palm Sunday as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Today, we do look back to the completed work of his suffering, death and resurrection. Does that mean that today we can sing alleluias, all the time? Does our life conform only to the resurrection? In a way, 'Yes', but in another way, 'No'. Paul is our great teacher on this, for he talks about self-emptying in Philippians. And he mentions that "we carry in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed" (2 Cor. 4: 10 - 11) Our lives do share in the dying and rising of Jesus. This means that the difficult aspects of our lives take on new meaning: the day to day frustrations, the fears, the failures, the loneliness.....in all these we share in the death of Jesus. The welcome aspects take on new meaning as well: our joys, our successes, loving relationships, our talents and gifts.......in all these we share in the resurrection of Christ. This way of approaching life is both comforting and challenging. It is comforting in our difficult times to know that Christ has gone before us in the dark journeys. At the same time, it is challenging to know that in joyful times, we share in the triumph of the risen Lord. In all things we can be one with him. Alleluia!