Holy Father's Palm Sunday Homily for
April 16, 2000 from Saint Peter's Square
1. "Benedictus, Qui venit in nomine Domini..." "Blessed is He Who comes
in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew, 21, 9; Cf. Ps 117 (118), 26).
Through these words, we hear the echo of the enthusiasm with which the
inhabitants of Jerusalem received Jesus for the paschal feast. We hear
them again, every time we sing the "Sanctus" in the course of the Mass.
After having said: "Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria Tua," we add:
"Benedictus, Qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis." In the
first part of this hymn, taken from the prophet Isaiah (Cf. Is 6,3), the
"thrice holy" God is exalted. Continuing with the second, there is the
expression of the assembly's joyful acknowledgment of fulfillment of the
Messianic promises: "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest."
We think naturally of the people of the Covenant who, for centuries and
generations, lived in expectation of the Messiah. Some believed that the
promises were fulfilled in John the Baptist. But, as we know, to the
explicit question on his possible Messianic identity, the precursor
responded with a clear denial, directing those who questioned him to
Jesus.
There was growing conviction in the people that the Messianic times had
arrived, first in the Baptist's testimony, then thanks to the words and
signs accomplished by Jesus, especially Lazarus' resurrection, which
took place a few days before the entry into Jerusalem, of which today's
Gospel speaks. This is why when Jesus arrived in the city riding on a
donkey, He was received by the crowd with an explosion of joy: "Blessed
is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" (Mt
21,9)
Key To Understanding Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection
2. The rites of Palm Sunday reflect the excitement of the people in
awaiting the Messiah but, at the same time, they are characterized as a
liturgy "of passion" in the fullest sense. These, in fact, open for us
the prospect of the already imminent drama, which we just relived in the
narration of the evangelist Mark. The other readings also introduce us
into the mystery of the Passion and Death of the Lord. The words of the
prophet Isaiah, whom some regard virtually as an evangelist of the Old
Covenant, show us the image of someone condemned, scourged, and stricken
(Cf. Is 50,6). The refrain of the responsorial Psalm, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me," makes us contemplate the agony of Jesus on
the cross (Cf. Mk 15,34).
But it is the apostle Paul who, in the second reading, introduces us to
a more profound analysis of the paschal mystery: "though He was in the
form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2, 6-8).
In the austere liturgy of Good Friday we will hear these words again,
which continue like this: "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and
bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father" (Ibid., 2, 9-11).
Abasement and exaltation: here is the key to understanding the paschal
mystery; here is the key to penetrate God's wondrous economy, which is
accomplished in the paschal events.
3. Why, as in every year, are so many youths present at this liturgy?
Indeed, for several years Palm Sunday has become the annual feast of
youth. Starting here, in 1984, the Year of Youth and, in a certain
sense, a jubilee year of youth, the pilgrimage of the World Youth Days
began. Passing through Buenos Aires, Santiago de Compostela,
Czestochowa, Denver, Manila, and Paris, will return to Rome, in the
coming month of August, for the World Youth Day of the Holy Year 2000.
Why, then, do so many youths have an appointment on Palm Sunday here in
Rome and in every diocese? Certainly there are many reasons and
circumstances that can explain this fact. It seems, however, that the
most profound reason that subtends all the others, can be identified in
what today's liturgy reveals to us: the mysterious plan of salvation of
the Heavenly Father, that is carried out in the humbling and exaltation
of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Here is the answer to the
questions and the underlying concerns of every man and every woman and,
especially, of youth.
"For us Christ became obedient unto death, and death on a cross. Because
of this God has exalted Him." How close these words are to our
existence! To the drama of life that you, dear youths, are beginning to
experience, as you question the meaning of life, your relation to
yourself, to others and to God. To your heart, thirsty for truth and
peace, to all your questions and problems, which at times are full of
anguish, Christ, the suffering and humiliated Servant, humbled unto
death on a cross and exalted in glory to the right hand of the Father,
offers Himself as the sole valid answer. Indeed, there is no other
answer that is so simple, complete, and convincing.
4. Dearest youth, thank you for your participation in this solemn
liturgy. With His entry into Jerusalem, Christ begins the road of love
and sorrow of the Cross. Look at Him with a new impetus of faith. Follow
him! He does not promise illusory happiness; on the contrary, so that
you will be able to reach true human and spiritual maturity, He invites
you to follow His demanding example, making your own His chosen
commitments. May Mary, faithful disciple of the Lord, accompany you in
this road of conversion and progressive intimacy with her divine Son
Who, as the theme of the next World Youth Day remind us, "became flesh
and came to dwell among us" (Jn 1,14). Jesus made Himself poor to enrich
us with His poverty, He took on our faults, so that we would be redeemed
in His blood poured out on the cross. Yes, for us Christ made Himself
obedient unto death. Death on a cross. "Glory and praise to You, O Lord
Jesus Christ!"
|