The Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Year A

Mt. 21:1-11); Mt. 50: 4-7, Ps 22:8-24, Phil. 2:6-8, Mt. 26:14-26:66. As we begin the Holy week with the Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Year A, the Church celebrates the Triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem in order to accomplish His Paschal Mystery. The week is made 'Holy' by its celebration of Jesus' gift of Himself to us and for us. Today's readings highlight the ordeal, humility, self-emptying (kenosis) and the whole Passion story according to Matthew. The Gospel for the procession with branches shows that Jesus is the new King who comes: “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Cf. Mt. 21:1-11).

Jesus chose a donkey rather than a horse as a mark of His total humility and it is this humility that Paul proclaims in today's second reading with great excitement, saying: "Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:6-11). The Passion of Jesus teaches us that suffering is not reserved for sinners but that the innocent also suffers. Therefore, the ultimate lesson of the passion story is positive: the tree of death (the Cross) is transformed into the tree of life. What different story would we be telling today if the unnamed owners of the donkey had refused to give it up? Maybe we would have no story of the triumphal entry, at least not in the way Jesus wanted it. No matter how unknown we are, we can still play a crucial role in the unfolding of God’s plan. The Lord needs each one of us as He needed the unnamed owners of the donkey. Add to this, the fact that the donkey had never been ridden, that means it was brand new and had a very high market value; giving up the donkey just because the Lord needed it was a very big sacrifice. It was a generous and heroic act of faith that we can learn from. All of us have a donkey, we have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and His story further down the road.

May the Lord renew His Spirit within us and help to be true witnesses of Christ! Amen!! Remain safe and happy Passion Sunday!!!