In one corner of our church bulletin  I usually ad a blurb called ‘Catholic Quiz’. It is a multiple choice Q and A of our faith. You will not see it in today’s Easter bulletin as they bulletin is quite full with words of thanks for Lent and Holy Week.               A few weeks ago the question was – When does Lent end ? Is it – Start of Easter Saturday Mass, Easter Sunday, the start of Mass of Holy Thursday or 3:00 Good Friday ? The answer is – the start of Mass of Holy Thursday.  True the 40 days conclude on Palm Sunday then followed by Holy Week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but it is on Holy Thursday that the purple of Lent concludes. This is why we heard the Gloria on Holy Thursday, the bells on Holy Thursday and so on. What the church actually does in it wisdom is to put together the three great days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter into what we call the Tridium. Tri – three – the three days of faith. In some ways it is as if this is ‘one’ Mass , ‘one’ Liturgy but in three ‘parts’. That is why you saw at the end of Holy Thursday Mass there was no final blessing – it is as if we ‘continue’ into Good Friday then Easter Vigil. That is also why you saw the three time elevation of the cross and now the three time elevation of the Easter candle – all in the same spots. That is also why it is so difficult to preach on Easter alone – to isolate Easter from Holy Thursday and Good Friday; to preach only on Easter – it is impossible to do. Rater we have to put all three days – the one continuous Liturgy together as one and preach on this three day faith.  It is also interesting that along with these three days of belief are the three great Christian virtues – that of faith, hope and love. Is that not interesting that we have three days and three virtues. Thus it is important connect all the pieces of the puzzle – to fit everything together this Easter Day.                                                                                                                                                   Faith – the Faith of Holy Thursday. Yes it does take faith to believe in the Eucharist. To truly believe that this bread becomes Jesus’ Body – His very Flesh. It takes Faith. It takes Faith to believe that the wine is to be consecrated into His Blood. Not everyone believes this  - it does take Faith. We even see that in the Bible – remember the passage of St John when Jesus spoke of His Body. The crowds began to question Him – how can you give us Your Body ? Jesus then did not back down – actually He upped the ante – and said This is My Flesh ! And the Scriptures say – many turned and left Him. So yes dear friends it takes Faith to believe. Not every one has that Faith. We respect that.  Yet our Faith is well rooted. Yes Jesus was a miracle worker and certainly then could have miraculously changed bread to His Body. But – we can have even further confidence is this – because of Easter Sunday !  For Easter is the proof that Jesus is the Living God !  He has come back from the dead and thus, even more than a ‘miracle’ He has shown that He is the Living God ! And as the Living God – He was there when the whole universe was created – and so surely He can ‘change’ bread into His Body and wine into His Blood. We then can have great confidence in our Holy Thursday Faith…. All because of Easter Sunday. Likewise – Love. The Love of Good Friday – the sacrificial Love of Good Friday. We see this – again the three days as one – in the Love of the washing of the feet of Holy Thursday. But the Love of Good Friday is rooted in Easter Sunday . For in Easter we see the power, the immense glory and power of God. He who changes death into life. And therefore with the, and in the power of Easter Sunday this gives great grace to Good Friday Love. With this power of Easter Sunday we are able to love and to offer a Good Friday love and never be exhausted by it. With the power of Easter Sunday our Good Friday Love can stretch to the ends of the earth. We can love because of Easter Sunday. Our hearts can stretch out to the victims of the ferry boat accident in South Korea,  can stretch out to the events of the Ukraine, to the people of Palestine, the homeless at St Vincent Kitchen in Oshawa and the seniors at Ballycliffe Home. And in the power of Easter our Good Friday love will never run out ! Thus the Faith of Holy Thursday, the Love of Good Friday …..                                                      and the Hope , the Hope of Easter Sunday. For Hope truly finds its roots in Easter. For in Jesus , and Jesus alone did one arise – no-one has ever done this before or since. Yes people such as Lazarus arose but only to die again. Only in Jesus Christ did one Rise and Live forever. And this fact gives us Easter hope. Again – if He can bring life from death; if He can move from the cross to the tomb in the fact of His Rising then our difficulties and our situations certainly He can take care of. If He can do this on Easter Sunday then He can care for any situation, any person or situation that we are praying for. The virtue of Easter is truly – Hope.                                                                                                                                                                       I pray for each and every one of you, as I know that you pray for me.   I pray that your children will grow strong. I pray that you will have good health and cheer. I pray that you will do well in life.  And yet on this day .. I pray for those gifts – of Faith, Love and Hope;  Holy Thursday Faith, Good Friday Love and Easter Hope.   Easter Homily 2014 Fr Keith Wallace

 

Matthew 21: 1-11 Palm Sunday Gospel Bible Study

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives,                                                             

Bethphage means ‘ House of Figs ‘ or ‘ House of dates ‘ and is one mile from Jerusalem. 

( See map below )  Mount of Olives naturally was the hill upon which olives groves stood.          

This occurred on the Sunday before Passover. Holy Thursday that year, that is Jewish Passover was the 14^th day of Nisan. Thus Palm Sunday was on 10^th day of Nissan. It was always on the 10^th day of Nisan that the victim lamb was chosen for the Passover.  This was also stated as the day when Joshua passed over the Jordan River thereby leading the Hebrew People into the Promised Land.  On this day Jesus processed as the soon to be sacrificed Lamb into Jerusalem.

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,                                

                                                              ‘Go into the village ahead of you,

The two disciples are unnamed – that is can be you or me. We assume that the Palm Sunday procession began in Bethphage – although here it does say – the village ahead of you, so it may not have been Bethphage as such.

and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her;

untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 

“The Lord needs them.”    And he will send them immediately.’

In St Matthew is both a colt and a donkey while the other Gospels only have a colt. Why ? The young colt represents the Gentiles while the  donkey is the ancient line of the Hebrew People. The colt has never been ridden before and thus represents the New Law and the donkey the Old Law. Both receive His yoke.  Both are untied but then Jesus becomes in control of both of them. He leads colt and donkey. He takes the reins. He alone, not even the disciples lead the two into Jerusalem.

THE Lord needs it. Notice here that it is not – OUR Lord needs it or YOUR Lord – but rather THE Lord.

 This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
   humble, and mounted on a donkey,
     and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ 

These are not exact quotes from the prophets but rather – Zechariah 9:9 “ Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem. See (behold) your king shall come to you; a just Saviour is he, meek and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”   and Isaiah 62:11 “See, the Lord proclaims to the ends of the earth – Say to daughter Zion, your Saviour comes.”

 
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;

they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

Apparently Jesus sat on one then the other beast as He enter the city. Usually Jesus always walked but now He rides. Why? 1. To fulfill the prophecy  2. To show His Kingship and dignity ( although He choose not a horse as kings would do but a colt and donkey) 3. This was an opportunity for the people to acknowledge Him – so He did not only walk into the city  4. To confirm the faith of the disciples who were there and saw  5. To publically stir up His opponents  Here Jesus is both magnificent and humble. 

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees       

This gathering of the people was totally spontaneous – how often do other kings force their subjects to join a parade of honour. Here the people gather – interestingly still to this day people love to gather on Palm Sunday. Note the people cut branches – only in St John are ‘palms’ mentioned.  In the city large large crowds were gathering for the Passover, as well as the citizens of the city. Jerusalem was crowded.

 and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ 

Hosanna means in Hebrew “Hosian-na” – ‘save us – now’ . See Psalm 118:25 – 26 “We beg You Lord, save us (hosanna); we beg you Lord give us victory. Blessed in the Name of the Lord is He who is coming.” This chant is similar to ‘Long live the king’ or ‘ the king will protect us’ or ‘Praise the king’ thus a mixture of petition and praise. We continue to use this sentence at Mass – “Holy, holy, holy, ….. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” This is exactly the same as Palm Sunday – as at Mass … Lord come and save us !  as soon the king shall enter ( into the bread and wine to become the king of kings. Let us welcome, greet, praise and await Him.  As Bristow states – this ‘represents the exultation of priest and people, expecting, as it were, and rejoicing at His coming.”  He both on Palm Sunday and at Mass IS Son of David and Lord.  He who comes in the Name of the Lord is as a Prophet ( see below )

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil asking, 

‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’ 

Jesus enters through the Golden Gate – it was through this gate that the Messiah would enter.            In modern day Jerusalem this gate is now bricked, closed forever ..?   “Whole city was in turmoil’     is sometimes translated as the whole city was shaken – that is in the Hebrew word ‘quaken’ like an earthquake – the noise was so great. This quake would be felt… on Good Friday.

This chapter is then followed by the Cleansing in the Temple by the Lord.

                                               PALM SUNDAY - GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW