Liturgy of the Palms/Passion (Year C)

M. Campbell-Langdell+

4.14.19

Imagine the scene.  The songs have died down in the air.  The palms are strewn around the streets that have cooled from the heat of the day. But Jesus is once more alone. Jesus is alone—the coats laid down in the Street for him to pass have been picked up and dusted off, coats that will turn against him so soon, so very soon. Soon this celebrated king will be rejected. Soon the happy songs will turn to the shouts of a violent crowd.

So, alone on that quiet street, imagine him.  See our humble king as the man he is in that moment. Before the disciples fold him back into the fellowship and the stories. But they cannot walk the whole way with him. There is a part he must walk alone.

Commending both Millie Whiting and Walt Powell to God recently has made me especially aware of death and loss in our Christian community, even as we hold onto the resurrection hope. Those who are aware that their death is near carry that knowledge with a certain dignity.

They remind me of this older priest I got to accompany before his death when I was in Riverside. We sat by his little outdoor fire and he told me stories about his life, and I count those hours as some of the most golden in my life. He wasn’t afraid to go, but he just wanted to share some stories. Millie, Walt and my old friend the priest were ready to go. They knew they were going to be with their Lord.

Perhaps the reason they could face death this way is that they believed in Christ, who also faced death valiantly.  Jesus, too, is a man facing his own mortality. Jesus knows that he will ultimately pay the price for showing us the way of love. 

His entry into Jerusalem is a dangerous act. It opens him up to the charge that he is calling himself a King, or a pretender to the throne claimed by another.  Soon all the wonderful praises lifted up to him today will be hurled back at him as insults and charges of blasphemy.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

So Jesus, too, focused on relationships—on being with his disciples and teaching them, some of the most powerful moments of which we will relive on Thursday with our Foot washing and remembering of the Last Supper in the Eucharist. Jesus, too, focused on his Word—on the words shared with his disciples, words that continue to nurture and instruct us.

So draw your hearts close to the tale that continues. This is the story of a man who knows he is going to die, but who faces that death without fear. We know the end of the story, but don’t jump there yet.

Be there as we learn from the bravery of this dying man, facing the end with love.  Meditate on his word as we strive to be in relationship with him. Remember that death doesn’t have the last Word.