Gilding the Lily

REFLECTION, ST. PAUL’S, FOLEY – PALM SUNDAY, YEAR B

MARCH 28, 2021

 

TEXT:                        MARK 14:1 – 15:47

 

 

            It is always a struggle to preach on Palm Sunday.  What more can you say that this gospel passage has not already said.

 

            I will refuse the example of a colleague in Mississippi who followed this gospel passage with a three-word sermon: It’s all true.

 

            But what more can be said?

 

            The God of all creation, who deigned to enter into the vulnerable form of a human being, willingly gave himself up to show the depth of love for all people.

 

            Think back on the last few months. This past Thursday, we commemorated the Annunciation – the announcement by the angel Gabriel, to a young woman in the remote village of Nazareth, the miracle of the Incarnation. We celebrated Christmas – the birth of the Christ child. Then we recall his baptism and his immediate sojourn in the wilderness. Now, we hear of his betrayal, his trial, his crucifixion, his death and entombment. Our year will continue with other stories of his ministry.

 

            All this… ALL THIS… all we will hear the remainder of the year, is to show us the depth of God’s love.

 

            But his death is not the end of the story.  It is not the concluding chapter of the testament of God’s love.