April 10, 2022: Palm Sunday
April 10, 2022: Palm Sunday
Some years ago when I arrived at the Tel Aviv airport in Israel, the Israeli immigration officer asked me, “What is the purpose of your visit? Are you a tourist?” I replied, “No, I’m a Catholic priest here to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.” He stamped my passport and let me through.
As we enter this Holy Week, it’s good to ask that question, “What is the purpose of my visit here at church? Why am I making this Holy Week journey? Am I a tourist or a pilgrim?” Tourists want everything to go exactly as they have planned in their itinerary. They hurry along to take photos, buy souvenirs, in order to squeeze in everything. A tourist returns home the same person as the one who left. Someone once wrote, “Pilgrims look for signs of encounter with God. If a flight gets delayed or canceled, they ask, ‘What is God trying to say to me?’ Pilgrims aren’t concerned with seeing and doing everything, just the things they feel called to see and do. They’re not obsessed with shopping. They are aware of others’ needs. Pilgrims look for meaning. Pilgrims count their blessings.” The pilgrim begins the journey with the expectation that when he returns from the journey, he will not be the same person as the one who set out.
We are entering into a week that changed the entire history of humanity. This is no ordinary week; the week is so extraordinary that it is referred to as Holy Week. We are not to be bystanders or tourists, but to be witnesses and disciples who will be changed by this journey.
There is a little village in Germany whose inhabitants actively participate in the entire retelling of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year from May through October, 2,000 inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau in the Bavaria region of Germany will be putting on the famous Passion Play for some half a million pilgrims who will journey to their town. Back in 1633, the Bavaria region was suffering from war, famine, and Bubonic plague. The villagers of Oberammergau understood these signs as a warning from God. They took a solemn vow to God, promising that every 10 years, the entire village would perform a Passion play depicting the final week of Jesus’ life, including his Resurrection. Deaths from the plague ceased, and since that time, the villagers have kept their vow.
In the liturgies of coming days we are not simply reenacting an historical event of the Passion of Christ that happened long ago. Instead, with faith, we welcome Jesus Christ who is alive, here and now. Today on Palm Sunday Christians all across the globe along with the inhabitants of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, welcome Jesus riding humbly on a donkey into the City of David. On Holy Thursday, we witness the compassion of Jesus who takes the form of a servant to wash the feet of his disciples and institutes the Holy Eucahrist, giving His very body and blood for our journey to eternal life. On Good Friday, we struggle with Peter, James, and John to stay awake and watch as Jesus undergoes unjust trials and suffers long hours of torture before crucifixion. And, we mourn with Blessed Mother as she places her Son’s lacerated body in the tomb. On Easter Vigil, we witness the amazement and the joy of the disciples as they encounter Risen Jesus who rose from the dead victorious over death and sin.
As we enter this week, let us keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus. Don’t lose the opportunity to pray with rich scripture readings each day of the Holy Week which helps us enter into the love and mercy of Christ. Let us use our imagination to place ourselves amid the disciples following Jesus, amid the two thieves on Calvary, and to comfort the Blessed Mother whose grief was so great. Let us ask Jesus for the grace to experience sorrow and regret over our sins because the Lord is going to his Passion for our sins. Let us strive to grieve with those who suffer around us and do whatever we can to alleviate their suffering. St. Peter Faber, SJ prayed so appropriately,
“Jesus Christ, may your death be my life and in your dying may I learn how to live. May your struggles be my rest, Your human weakness my courage, Your embarrassment my honor, Your passion my delight, Your sadness my joy, in your humiliation may I be exalted. In a word, may I find all my blessings in your trials. Amen.” (St. Peter Faber, SJ)
Let us remember that these coming days are a gift to us from Jesus who was led by the Holy Spirit to fulfill His Father’s plan.
