Palm Sunday_C - For Crying Out Loud_0041325

Deacon Tom Writes,

“For Crying Out Loud” 

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Year C

 

The tide of public opinion can change quickly. But the tide of public opinion is often nothing more than the collective mindset of the crowd that happens to prevail at any particular moment. Today the crowd gathers to welcome Jesus and to sing his praises. Why not? He has a good reputation. He speaks kind words. He does good things. He even challenges the religious leaders. Word of his good adventures has spread throughout the land. He is a healer, worker of miracles and an advocate for the poor and disheartened. To some he is a prophet; to others he is the Messiah; to the religious authorities, he is a pain in the .... well, let’s just say that he is a big problem!

 

Word spreads throughout Jerusalem that Jesus has arrived in the city to celebrate Passover with his friends and many turn out to welcome him. The people are in a festive mood and they greet Jesus waving their palm branches and raising a chorus of “Hosanna,” for somehow, they recognize the presence of God in their midst. As the spirit of hope fills the air, the Pharisees, the ones for whom Jesus is a problem, tell him to, “Rebuke your disciples”. They could not tolerate to see the adulations the people were placing upon him. But Jesus responds, “If they were to keep quiet, I tell you, the very stones would cry out.” (Lk 19:40)

 

What a difference a few days can make. As Jesus stands before Pilate several days later, the Pharisees don’t appeal to Jesus to control his disciples; instead, they’re fueling the crowd’s ignorance, stirring them up to advance their agenda – to get rid of the thorn in their side, Jesus. The finger pointing, the false accusations, the skillful manipulation of the emotions of the crowd work in their favor and Jesus is condemned to death. (Aren’t we all too familiar with this technique)??? The only spirit at work in the crowd on that day is the hardness of heart that, to this day, continues to blind many to God’s presence in their lives.

 

Our scripture readings today help us to see Jesus as both the hope for and the scourge of our world. For believers Jesus is the, “Way, the truth, and the life”. For others Jesus is a hindrance, an obstacle to living a life unchecked, unrestrained by any moral or ethical code. With Jesus out of the way, there are no restrictions to living a self-absorbed, it’s all about me, taking care of number one, a selfish, indifferent to the needs and suffering of others lifestyle. Any good that one may do in this state is done solely because it gives one individual pleasure, a sense of feeling good. There is no sense of any common good, let alone any awareness of belonging to the “Mystical Body of Christ.”

 

I suspect that many of the people in the crowd on Good Friday were also there to greet Jesus on Palm Sunday. Today we have a chance to imagine what we would have done if we were present at these two remarkably polarizing events. Better yet, we can look into our lives and see what crowds we side with today. Being champions of the poor, the alienated, the marginalized and the abused is the best way to let our hosannas rise above the crowd around us.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

Recommended Reading: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis who explores the common ground upon which all of the Christian Faiths stand together.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Shortest Way Home: C.S. Lewis & Mere Christianity

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent_B - Old Problems - New Solutions_040625

Image Credit: Song of David by Hilary Sylvester

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Old Problem – New Solution”

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C

 

The language in today’s readings tells us how much the Lord does on our behalf… “The Lord… opens… ways in the sea / paths in mighty waters.” … “The Lord does something new.”  The Responsorial Psalm proclaims, “The Lord is doing great things for us, we are filled with joy.”

 

In today’s gospel, Jesus had another difficult encounter with the scribes and the Pharisees. They bring a woman who, witnesses say, committed adultery. They want Jesus’ opinion on whether they should put her to death. It’s a trick question and Jesus is aware of their insincerity. So, offering no opinion of his own as to the merits of the Mosaic Law, he simply tells the authorities and crowd that had gathered earlier to hear him teach, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

 

Jesus avoids their trap and sets their heads, and ours, spinning. Not surprisingly, Jesus had no takers. When everyone has left, Jesus is alone with the woman. The exchange between them is profound. “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin any more.”

 

The new approach to the OLD problem of “sin” that Jesus demonstrates today is the NEW way of compassion. It is subtle yet profound. Jesus knows that the woman before him is frightened and ashamed. She may have even preferred death by stoning than public humiliation. Yet Christ does not condemn her for her sin, he does not quote her the citation from Leviticus she was guilty of violating; he does not accuse or blames or point the finger. He does none of these. What he does do is encourage her to go and sin no more. He gives her a new beginning, a fresh start.

 

What a grace-filled, inciteful, affirmative way to encourage someone to make a course correction in their lives. You are familiar with the expression, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink!” So too in our own experiences and those of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Being there to help others in their time of crisis, simply being available without judging or condemnation has the possibility of setting into motion real healing and the desire to make necessary changes in our lives. Or, as Jesus said, “Go and sin no more.”

 

What a new way to fix a persistent problem. What an experience of freedom… What a practice to make our own the remainder of this Lent, to remember that it is God who stands in judgment and it is our job to simply be there to listen and give comfort whenever the opportunity arises. Because who doesn’t like a fresh start every once in a while? Who doesn’t like the slate wiped clean every now and again? That’s the heart of the Easter message: Jesus will give all who follow his ways a fresh start by raising us to new life with him this Easter!

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

OTHER RESOURCE

Recommended Reading:  Christ Among Us by Anthony J Wilhelm C.S.P is one of the most popular guides to modern Catholicism.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: The Spirituality of Everyday Life, Part 2 by Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O