Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Recall with me those words of St. Thomas the Didymus, that is, the Twin, which we heard yesterday in the raising of the “four-Day-Dead” Lazarus, when it became abundantly clear to the apostolic college that our Lord would not be dissuaded from resolutely going up to Judea, and ultimately to Jerusalem. In resignation, he who would become known as the Doubter, said, “’Let us also go, that we may die with Him’” (Jn. 11:16). Thomas knew intuitively what awaited Jesus there in Judea.
And, today, we are in Jerusalem with Jesus and His Disciples and all the others who have come to this place – to this City of God, to Mt. Zion – to see Jesus, to be with Him just like every other entourage in the Gospels. As we noted last Sunday, this has been our destiny and our goal all through Great and Holy Lent. Jerusalem is a hard place for the Prophets of God, regardless of how enthusiastically they have been received along the way (Mt. 23:37-39; Lk. 13:34-35). All of our fasting, increased prayer and worship, and almsgiving now crescendo here. Lazarus has been raised up from being four days in the tomb and the crowds greet this Jesus as a king returning from war as all-conquering hero! The city is abuzz with what might be. There is anticipation in the air at the One Who comes, however, meekly, unpretentiously, astride a donkey, the foal of an ass. If He is a warrior, it is well disguised in His flesh and by His humble but majestic demeanor. The good citizens of Jerusalem cut branches of palm trees and strew them in His path. He Who had fled once before for dear life from those who had sought to make Him a king because they had rightly perceived that He was the Prophet foretold by Moses (Dt. 18:15; Jn.6:14-15), now meekly enters the Holy City to the Messianic acclamations and greetings of the people, “’Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the Name of the Lord!’” (Ps. 117 [118]:26). What Nathanael had perceived when he first met Jesus, if you recall, way back in the opening chapter of this Gospel (Jn. 1:49), the people full-throated now announce. Of course, enthusiasm, regardless of how sincere, cannot substitute for faith . . . full-bodied faith in God and His Word that does not return to Him empty but will, in fact, fulfill His divine intentions . . . in the hearts and souls of the faithful and in Jerusalem (Is. 55:11). The glory of God is being unveiled, starting with the calling forth of Jesus’ beloved friend from his grave, sits enthroned upon the praises of the people at this Great Entrance of Jesus Christ, our God and our King (Ps. 21 [22]:3), and will be nailed to the Cross by the end of the week (Jn. 12:20-36). For,
‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto Life Eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant be. If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor’ (Jn. 12:23-26).
As I said earlier, all of our fasting, all of our praying and worshipping,
all of our almsgiving has led us here. But, none of it will matter – or matters! – unless we are willing to be glorified with our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ in a manner ordained by Him. Indeed, none of what we have done during the Great 40 Day Fast matters unless we join with Mary and Martha in serving only the Lord Jesus Christ, and, especially like Mary, love Him without reserve or condition. She held nothing back. She gave her all to Him Who gave back to her her dead brother, and Who will, in a matter of a few days, voluntarily give Himself up for the life of the world and for its salvation (Prothesis). Judas, sadly, tragically, could not return the Lord’s great love so darkened his soul was by the passions, deluded, in particular, by insatiable avarice. Do you recall the question Jesus asked of those wishing to follow Him? He asked, “’For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’” (Mt. 16:25-26; Mk. 8:36-37; Lk. 9:25). Clearly, Judas valued his soul foolishly. In fact, he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, a mere pittance to the fragrant ointment Mary lavished so foolishly – at least from Judas’ perspective – upon this Jesus, valued at nearly an entire year of wages! Of course, we cannot assign dollar amounts, but we know love when we see it . . . and experience it! Not only was she willing to lavish so luxurious a gift as this, but she carefully and lovingly tended to this Jesus Whose own death was but a few days hence. She gave herself to Him Who is Love – divine Love – incarnate, born from the ever-virginal womb of another Mary! Where Judas’ soul is darkened by the passion of greed, Mary is enlightened by the passion of love and devotion for her Lord and Master. She burns with desire for God; Judas is consumed by greed. Mary’s love leads her outside of herself, whereas Judas lusts only for himself. Hers is life-giving; his is death.
Beloved, we may relish the joy of our Lord’s entrance into the Holy City of Jerusalem, rejoicing just as the Apostle urges us (Pp. 4:4-9), but all of that is meaningless unless we are prepared to go with Jesus all the way, ever confident that the joy of Palm Sunday is that of the New Jerusalem above to which we are all journeying (Hb. 12:18-24), fulfilled by Great and Holy Pascha. For our Lord is rightly a king – the King – and His Kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36-37). In it, to be sure. But, nonetheless, not of it so that it is not inexorably tied to the inevitable rising and falling of the events of this old decaying world.
His Kingdom is an everlasting one foretold to His father, David, and confirmed by the Archangel to the Most Holy and Blessed Virgin Lady Theotokos (2 Kg. [2 Sm.] 7:12-17; Lk. 1:32-33). His Kingdom – the Kingdom of God – fills the whole earth with its glory and transcends it (Is. 6:3), causing all of creation to rejoice, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth: Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” (Anaphora). Thus, in the Holy Eucharist memorializing this Mystery of Salvation, the whole world is being transfigured by His glory which will only be revealed fully a few days from now at the Cross and Empty Tomb. It is this glory – His Glory – that is being worked out, even in us, as we give ourselves in pure love and devotion to Him as did our sister and benefactor, Mary, the grace-filled sister of the Four-Day-Dead Lazarus (Pp. 1:6; 2:12-13).
Let us, beloved, in faith and love, and in the fear of God, go with our Lord so that we “may know Him and the power of His Resurrection, and the fellowship of His Sufferings, being conformed to His Death, if, by any means, [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Pp. 3:10-11).
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
VIGIL PROPERS: PROPERS:
Gn. 49:1-2, 8-12 Pp. 4:4-9
Zp. 3:14-19 Jn. 12:1-18
Zc. 9:9-15