Thoughts & Homilies

Passion Sunday
Lord Jesus, you are the joy and salvation of the whole world.
Hear our prayers and keep our eyes fixed on you this Holy Week.

Today and throughout the week, which we call "Holy",
we commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus.

Why do we focus on such an unpleasant piece of our salvation history?
Is it to make us feel sad and guilty?
Why do we listen to the whole Passion narrative not once,
but twice this week - today from the Gospel of Mark and
on Good Friday from the Gospel of John?
Why don't we just emphasize joy and the resurrection - new life??

You all have the answer.
It's because life isn't always joyful!

We, our loved ones, and people all around the world endure suffering, sometimes great cruelty, violence and injustice,
untimely and painful deaths.
It is part of the human condition.
As I speak, a war is being played out on the TV's in our homes,
stark, ferocious, in full color, around the clock
and almost commercial free.
Our military have put their lives on the line.
They live in constant danger,
as do the many citizens of Iraq, a country which seems to be in
total chaos.

Or look at Jerusalem, a city which is still very much like
it was 2000 years ago, still divided both politically and religiously, a
city of unchecked hatred, retaliation and revenge.

Death frightens most everyone.

Yet this weekend, no one in this congregation can escape the reality of suffering and death….
because even Jesus could not escape it.
Surely the lives of many of us, if not most, have been touched by the
death of a relative, friend or neighbor during the past year.
For me, it was the death of the mother who gave me life.
Each time we personally experience loss in our lives,
the hearing of the story of Jesus' own suffering and death
becomes more compelling.

At the heart of salvation history is an inconceivable tragedy,
the death of God's son.
The author of life, the Wisdom of God,
the Prince of Peace, the tender Good Shepherd
is violently murdered by the recipients of his own generosity.
How could such guilt be brought down upon such innocence?

When we study human history and see the atrocities committed up to our very own times, we are tempted to wonder
where God is in all of this.
The Passion of Christ gives us the answer.
We need only look to the cross to remember
that God is no stranger to atrocity.
Wherever grave injustice occurs, God has chosen to be there.
Wherever innocence suffers, God suffers too.
Jesus' willingness to empty himself of divinity and to surrender to
humiliation and the grave is meant to give us strength and comfort as we face our own trials.
God understands because his own son experienced and still does,
what we experience.

Many millions of people will fill our churches next Sunday who are not here this Sunday. They will hear the Good News of the resurrection proclaimed in great joy.
Thank God they come!

But you have chosen the better part.
You will have heard the whole story.

May Jesus' passion bring you comfort and courage in whatever trials you may be going through. May his suffering comfort you.
May his resurrection give you confidence that God is still in charge and can be trusted to bring life and goodness
out of even the tragedies of our lives.

Have a good, thoughtful, and prayerful Holy Week!

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