Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
Today’s liturgy, the opening Mass of Holy Week, is one of contrasts. In parishes where the procession is celebrated, we hear these words in the opening Gospel: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Jesus, the Son of David, enters his own city, Jerusalem, as a messianic king, welcomed with palm branches and shouts of praise.
And yet: the Gospel account of our Lord’s Passion teaches us precisely what kind of king Jesus is. He is one who, as Paul tells the Philippians,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
The earth has never seen a king like this one, nor will we ever see another like him, even unto the end of history. It is worth meditating on this contrast, on this radical redefinition of what kingship is in the person of Jesus Christ. The true king of all creation, the only-begotten of the Father, the one anointed with the Holy Spirit, reigns from the Cross as his throne.
If we are persons of any kind of authority, whether in the family, the workplace, in the public sphere, or in the Church, we would do well to meditate on this mystery and reflect on what it means for our own conduct and example in the world. For it is only through this mystery of our crucified King that we will pass to the glory of his Resurrection.