Homily

I think about the apostles and disciples of Jesus as He rides into the city of Jerusalem greeted by the cheering crowds. Yes, they were aware of the great hostility some of the scribes, Pharisees and chief priests had for their Master. They knew that there were some death threats, and in fact the Lord had recently kept away from Jerusalem for that reason. He had mentioned that His life would soon come to an end by violent means, BUT look what just happened: Lazarus was brought back to life from the dead and nobody had ever seen anything like that before, ever! And now, here today, Jesus enters Jerusalem, and the crowd goes wild! They all love Jesus and here we are, as members of His group, sitting at the top of the heap. These are glory days for us! It's only going to get better and better from here on out. I suspect that is what the disciples had on their minds that Palm Sunday—joy and jubilation for a great future, not sadness and fear for a coming storm of hatred. I empathize with them. I'm sure I would have felt the same way. And yet, they were out of touch with reality. They ignored all the warning signs, they ignored what Jesus had been telling them, and they chose to see the world in a different way, a pleasant and positive way, a way that made them feel good about where they were headed. But they were living on the outer layers of reality which could not provide them with an accurate picture of what was really going on. Had they gone a little deeper they would have seen a greater truth, a dangerous truth, and they would have been afraid, not happy about this procession into Jerusalem.

I remember on the 1980s TV program "Cosmos" the host explained that in the Big Bang this tiny core of stuff exploded and the universe came into being. All the matter of the entire universe went racing out from this point to create the planets and asteroids and the stars. And he says, "And you are a part of that, because you are made up from the same stuff as the stars." We are made up from the same stuff as the stars, just like our sun. I guess that is validation for those of you who always knew you were hot. But it's the way the host says it. You should be very impressed. And I am impressed. It is an impressing thought. Yet, at the same time it only describes the upper layers of reality. If I want to dig down a little deeper, I ask, "Where did all that star stuff actually come from before the Big Bang? And what is the meaning of my life in this universe?" Science is great when it's good. But it cannot explain anything beyond the superficial reality of this physical universe. It cannot tell me who I am, why I am here, how I should live, or where I am going.

Much of the time, surely not all the time, but much of the time I realize that I'm living more in the superficial layers of the real world, kind of like the disciples were on Palm Sunday. There's shopping to do, trash to be hauled out, bulletins to be printed, income taxes to be paid, people to see, the regular business of living in the regular and very real world. Now, I am tied to a deeper and more substantial reality than all of this because I am a Christian; I believe in God and His love for me. I usually try to follow His commands, and I pray to Him and worship Him on a regular basis, as the center of my existence. But not enough. Not enough. Surely not enough. There is still way too much living on the surface levels of reality, and not nearly enough living much more deeply based on my life in the ultimate truth, which does tell me who I am, and why I'm here, and where I should be going.

That is why I value this week the most, far and above all other weeks of the year, because it provides me with great opportunities to live more closely and more deeply in the real world at its heart, not just on the surface. From today on through next Sunday, I am constantly being reminded and pushed toward seeing the greater thoughts of my life and my connection not with star stuff or the approval of cheering crowds, but rather with my Lord and my God Who tells me who I am, and why I am here, and where I ought to be going because I ought to be going to no other place than into His arms, not just today but forever.

This week provides me with great opportunities to live in the real world which is not only held together by the laws of physics, but even more truly it is held together by the loving will of God. This week keeps me from getting distracted, as I so easily am distracted, by living in the more superficial levels of daily life, where calls to be more loving are often not heard, where graces that are being offered can go unseen, unnoticed, and where life seems more about my own doing than the gift of God that it is. Am I drifting through life or living according to a great purpose, and if I'm living to a great purpose, what is it, and how dedicated am I to that purpose? What is my life? What is my death? Who is my Lord? What is the truth? All of these questions and many other vital elements of my existence in this world are brought out most clearly for me during this week. The events we celebrate, and the services where we pray give us food for thought and nourishment for our souls, they bring us right to the very heart of our lives as Christians. And for me, even all the material preparations that I have to do in between those services can serve to keep me focused on the "why" of why I am doing them. I'm doing them for God. I'm doing them for you. I'm doing them for myself.

So this week pushes me to make more sense of my life and make more sense of my faith, which I can only do in union with Christ. I hope you let it push you there as well, because it only comes once a year. Let us allow the Lord to bring us more deeply into His life, even though we are tempted to think our superficial living is where the action is. I plan to be at every single church service. That may not be possible for you, but that does not mean you cannot make great use of this week even at work or at school or at home, outside of the services you may attend and the prayers you make. It is often difficult to be focused on the truth of our lives.

More superficial needs and concerns are always calling out to us to give them our time and our attention, just like they did for Jesus' disciples, and they may often seem to represent the real world, the real life. It's not so easy to look beyond that, but this is the best week of the year to give it our attention, and to give Him our attention, because we certainly have His.

St. Paul writes today, ". . . whatever things are true, whatever are honorable, whatever just, whatever holy, whatever lovable, whatever of good repute, if there be any virtue, if anything worthy of praise, think on these things . . . and the peace of God will be with you."