Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - Homily

I wonder if we over-complicate God and God’s will?

Listen again to those words from Isaiah the prophet, the first reading: “The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear;...”

All that God wills is that we humans be lifted up. God wills that we work with God for the good of all. God rouses us up to be all that we can be: God’s children.

This is Jesus, the Son of God. This is the mission of Jesus. The Son, the humble Son who gave of himself, even unto the sinfulness of humanity, so that humanity can be raised from that sinfulness. So that we can be roused to grow, roused to take action, roused to hear God’s love.  The Passion, the whole of Jesus’ Paschal Mystery is not about how sinful we are, nor how bad we are… This is not to make us feel bad about ourselves and humanity.

It is about how Good God is.
It is about how in God’s grace how good we can be with God.
Not too complicated is it.

God loves us.  God sees our potential.  God desires that potential to be realized in all human persons.  This is God.

Jesus rouses us from our small thinking; Jesus challenges us to think bigger; to see and believe in a much better world, to see ourselves and every human person as our God sees us.  Jesus calls to us to see ourselves and our choices and their consequences, then choose better.

Jesus' death and resurrection reveal the consequences of not believing in God or humanity; death.  And the consequence of believing; life.

When we believe, as the fire of God’s love ignites within us, we can truly make a difference. We can be those children of God.  

We can and will want to treat people, all people with dignity.  We will become better employers, better spouses, better parents…  We will work to rouse up those who have been knocked down, through poverty, injustice, abuse, hatred, genocide, violence.  We will hold all people in esteem and support people trying to make sense of their lives, without judgement.  We will see past our own needs, and see the needs of others.

We will protect the only home we have, and at least for generations to come, the only home we will ever have, this planet.

Is it a struggle? Yes, it is the Passion.
But it doesn't always have to be so complicated.


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