Palm Sunday 2025

We experience a severe juxtaposition in this Mass.  At the beginning of the liturgy, we hear about Jesus’ triumphant and glorious entry into Jerusalem.  The crowds wave palm branches – an expression of joy and celebration.  They lay their coats and cloaks on the ground acknowledging His authority and kingship.  They shout “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  Then we move through the Mass and quickly transition to our Lord’s passion.  The palms have all dried up and blow through the streets of Jerusalem.  No one lays their cloaks on the ground for Jesus.  Instead, He is forced to wear a purple cloak in mockery of His sovereignty.  There is no golden crown but only a crown of thorns, no golden scepter but rather a reed placed in His hand.  He is beaten and forced to carry a cross.  Above the cross is inscribed “Jesus the Nazarean King of the Jews” furthering the mockery.  Such a drastic change in only 5 days.  And yet even as Jesus was on the cross, He retained His power and kingship.

Without eyes of faith it is easy to view the crucifixion as a failure of Jesus.  However, He loses neither His power nor His glory.  Instead, He shows us the kind of king He is.  He is a king who is willing to take on our suffering.  He is a king who, as St. Paul says, “humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  And because of this, God exalted Him and used the cross to defeat death and show the glory of Jesus.  Jesus is not just a friend or a loving savior.  He is king who has power and sovereignty over every aspect of our lives.

Yet He is not a tyrant who strips away our autonomy and freedom.  He offers Himself to us as a king but we can choose to shout either “hosanna!” or “crucify Him!”.  However, it is in our best interests to submit to His kingship.  Only there will we find fulfillment and happiness.  To reject Christ only brings misery.

As we enter into Holy Week, we ought to identify any areas of our hearts where we have not submitted to Christ’s rightful kingship.  We are fickle, shouting “hosanna!” one day only to crucify Him by our sins the next.  The Christian life is a struggle to submit to the reign of Jesus, to recognize His glory and allow Him to reign over every part of our lives.  The Christian life involves putting to death our sinful tendencies so that we might rise with Christ.  In the words of Msgr. Ronald Knox,

“We must enter into the joys of Easter by entering into the sufferings and death of Christ.  Entering into them, not by way of artistic appreciation, not by merely feeling sorry about it.  We were buried with Christ in our baptism; we are dead, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.  Our business this week is to associate ourselves with Christ’s Passion, to unite ourselves with the dispositions of will and purpose with which he emptied himself, annihilating himself, in our name.  Self has to be dragged out and crucified” (Stimuli, 41-42).