HOMILY for April 14, 2019: Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle C

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

or click here if there is no triangle

Passion (Palm) Sunday, Cycle C

Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours

April 14, 2019 

Lessons from the Gospel of Luke 

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato  

Injustices 

Ø  Most of us can think of a time when we were treated unfairly

Ø  I remember way back, when I was in the sixth grade, some tattle-tale accused a whole group of us boys of saying “bad” words on the playground.  I wasn’t an angel, but I didn’t say “bad” words and I still got punished

Ø  More serious than that, all of our government workers that experienced the closing down of the government recently must have felt unfairly treated when they lost their regular paycheck

Ø  Or the employees of Bethlehem Steel must have felt unfairly treated when they lost their pensions

Ø  Perhaps you have felt unfairly treated by a friend who has turned you off and rejected you

Ø  Most of us have had experiences like these

Jesus’ Innocence 

Ø  Jesus himself experienced great injustice and this is the background for Saint Luke’s account of his suffering and death that we just heard proclaimed

Ø  Luke carefully emphasizes Jesus’ innocence

Ø  Only in his telling of Jesus’ Passion – not in Matthew, Mark or John – only in Luke does Pilate three times declare Jesus innocent

Ø  Only in Luke does Herod also pronounce Jesus innocent

Only Luke carefully recalls thewords of the one man being crucified with Jesus:“We have been condemned justly, but this man has done nothing wrong.”  

Only Luke recalls the Roman centurion saying right after Jesus dies: “This man was innocent”

Ø  So Luke, in his account of Jesus’ suffering and dying, very intentionally reminds us of Jesus’ innocence

Ø  He is showing us how unfair, how unjust all of this is.

Jesus’ Care, Healing, and Forgiveness

Ø  And yet, Jesus responds positively

Ø  Luke tells us that at the Last Supper, Jesus prays for Peter – that his faith will in the long run not fail

Ø  Only Luke’s Gospel tells us that in the garden, Jesus heals the ear of the high priest’s servant

Ø  Only Luke shows Jesus’ concern for the women who are weeping, advising them not to be concerned for him, but for themselves and their children

Ø  Only Luke recalls Jesus, on the cross, asking the Father to “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”

Ø  And, of course, only Luke shows Jesus assuring the one man being crucified with him: “Today you will be with me in Paradise”

Ø  So, Luke very carefully shows that nothing – injustice, suffering, and even impending death – nothing gets in the way of Jesus’ caring, healing, and forgiving

Communion with God

Ø  Luke, of course, wants us to realize that we are called to be the same way, and he shows us how this is possible 

Ø  Jesus remains in communion with the Father and he maintains this from start to finish

Ø  Luke’s depiction of Jesus on the Mount of Olives stresses his being prayerful

Ø  Notice that this communion with the Father continues to the very end when Jesus prays, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”

Ø  Luke is making the point that this inner, steady communion with the Father – it is this that strengthens Jesus

Ø  It is this that enables him who is innocent to deal with such injustice and suffering

Ø  It is this that enables him not to become vengeful and violent, but to remain caring, forgiving, and peaceful

Ø  Today Luke calls you and me to the same inner communion with God, the same prayerfulness

Ø  And it is this prayerful communion that will help us to deal with injustice and suffering in our lives

Ø  It will:

o  Help us to heal rather than to hurt

o  To forgive rather than to take vengeance

o  And to remain at peace rather than become violent

-->