Passion (Palm) Sunday
Cycle
A
April
13, 2014 10:30am and 12:30pm
St. Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Passion According to Matthew
As you
know, there are four gospels.
Each
gospel writer – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – each of them tells the story of
the Passion, Jesus’ suffering and death.
This morning I want to comment on just two features in the Passion
according to Matthew that we just heard.
God’s Love
First, Matthew is the
only one of the four gospel writers who tells of the suicide of Judas.
Why does he mention
this? Judas has sold out Jesus for some
money.
More important, Judas
comes to realize that his betrayal of Jesus is wrong. He realizes that he has betrayed a good and
holy man.
But tragically, Judas
does not realize that Jesus is so good that he will even forgive and accept
back him. Judas fails to see or trust
this.
So implicitly, by
recalling this, Matthew wants us to be clear that nothing we do is too bad to
be forgiven by God. God’s love for us is
unconditional and there is nothing about us as persons or about our behavior
that is beyond God’s love and forgiveness.
One conclusion I make is
that we as a Church must live out this love of God in our ministry. Anyone and everyone needs to be welcome here.
You or others are welcome
here at Mass. You or others are welcome
to a renewing experience in the Sacrament of Reconciliation if that is
appropriate.
It must be that way if we
as a Church are to be like Jesus. If this
would assist someone you know who is not here today, please tell them about
God’s unconditional love and how they can find that right here.
God in Everyone
The
second point I want to note is the tearing of the curtain in the temple.
The
passage says that at the moment Jesus dies, “the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two
from top to bottom.” What does this mean?
This
curtain separates what is called the Holies of Holies – the area of the temple
where God is seen as dwelling – it separates this from the rest of the
temple. So the tearing of the curtain is
a sign that this separation of God from us no longer exists.
It
means that with Jesus’ death and eventual resurrection God is with and within
each of us. And so, we are to see God in
ourselves and in others, whether they are Christian or not, whether they are
believers or not.
Pope
Francis gave us a good example last fall when he gave an interview to a
journalist who is a non-believer and showed such complete respect for him. So we come here to church, the building that
proclaims the presence of God and gives us the Eucharistic presence of Jesus.
Our
doing this is to awaken us to God’s presence in everyone. This is the underlying, positive message in
the tearing of the curtain in the temple as Jesus dies on the cross.
