Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
Matthew 21:1-16And when they drew nigh to Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage, unto mount Olivet, then Jesus sent two disciples,
Saying to them: Go ye into the village that is over against you: and immediately you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me.
And if any man shall say anything to you, say ye that the Lord hath need of them. And forthwith he will let them go.
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of her that is used to the yoke.
And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them.
And they brought the ass and the colt and laid their garments upon them and made him sit thereon.
And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees and strewed them in the way.
And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
And when he was come into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: Who is this?
And the people said: This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.
And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the chairs of them that sold doves.
And he saith to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.
And there came to him the blind and the lame in the temple: and he healed them.
And the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things that he did and the children crying in the temple and saying: Hosanna to the son of David, were moved with indignation,
And said to him: Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus said to them: Yea, have you never read: Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
This week, the Church universally begins celebrating the Lord's passion, death, and rising from the dead. It bears noting that just about everyone that was shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David" was going to be shouting "crucify Him" by Friday morning. The apostles would abandon Him.
When we think about the problems and the difficulties that the Church is presently undergoing with the terrible stench of scandal, we ought to remember that this abandonment of the Lord is how the Church began! Yet the Lord not only forgave the apostles for their abandonment of Him, but the Church rose in glory just like the Lord did. There is little reason to believe the Church won't rise again this time around.
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 9:46 AM
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