The story of the suffering and death of Jesus that we just hear in today’s Gospel is basically a story of love –God’s love for us. Our response should be gratitude and that gratitude to Jesus should make us turn a new leaf and never go back to a life of sin. That’s what Lent is all about.
We would be the most ungrateful people if we should continue living the sort of life that made Jesus die. Gratitude should make us keep the memory of Jesus alive. No day should pass that we should not remember the love God has for us. But, instead of focusing on Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, let’s look at our own. Palm Sunday raises at least two important spiritual questions for us: What does it mean to be like Jesus? And what does it mean to take up our crosses, just like he did?
First, we don’t need to go looking for our cross. Life will give us plenty of them. Whether it’s an illness or a tough family relationship or trouble in school or problems on the job, the cross will be there. The real cross is the one that we don’t want because it’s hardly a cross if we want it.
Secondly, we are asked by Jesus to accept our crosses. Now, what does that mean? Well, first it means accepting that suffering is a reality in our lives, but perhaps more importantly, it means not passing along the bitterness that we might feel. It doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it or cry about it to others. But, our cross is our cross. It shouldn’t become someone else’s. It does mean if we’re angry about our boss or about school or about our family, we don’t pass along that anger or bitterness or meanness to others.
Third, we are asked to wait for the resurrection. In every cross there will be some invitation to new life, some new way of relating to God, and that may not be immediately apparent. In other words, look for it. How will it come? Is it in forgiving someone in our family? Moving away from an unhealthy work environment or an unhealthy relationship? Letting go of something that prevented us from being more loving? Trusting in ourselves a little more?
God’s gift of resurrection is usually a complete surprise, just like it was for the Apostles. And just as the Apostles discovered on Easter Sunday, the resurrection does not come when we expect it. It may take a long time to come and when it does come, it’s often not what we would expect it to look like. But it is our resurrection. So remember, just as the only way we possibly get through the passion and death of Jesus is by knowing the outcome of the story—the Resurrection—that may be how we get through our own crosses—knowing that resurrections in our lives do come. We have Jesus’s word on that.