PALM SUNDAY 2014 AND MATTHEW'S PROCLAMATION OF THE PASSION..............

As the sacred and solemn days of Holy Week and the great events in Salvation History that occurred during these seminally significant days opens for the Year of Our Lord 2014 - on this Palm Sunday the  triumphal entrance and greeting of Jesus in Jerusalem with Hosannas, are a paradoxical opening act to what happened as these days unfolded, as Jesus was arrested, accused of blasphemy, tried, condemned, and crucified, as the sinless suffering servant for the Redemption of our sins and saving of our souls.  On this First Day of Holy Week we hear in the Liturgy of the Word, one of Isaiah's Suffering Servant Songs, just as we will hear the others in the days ahead; and the Passion Narrative of Matthew is also proclaimed today.  Isaiah's description of a Suffering Servant who will become  the sacrifice of atonement and forgiveness for all - manifested in Jesus Christ; and the Passion of Christ as given to us  by Matthew portrays Jesus and his actions as Messianic, underscoring His Anointing as God's Son to be the One chosen to be the Savior for  all Humankind.  May our mutual journeys through this Holy Week find us accepting our share in the sacrificial selflessness of Jesus The Christ, so as to be  truly worthy of the triumph and the glory Jesus attains for us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection..............Father Troy David