~~~ Palm...Passion...Sunday ~~~
~~~ Isaiah 50:4-7 ~~~ Psalm 22 ~~~ Philippians 2:6-11 ~~~
~~~ Matthew 26:14—27:66 ~~~
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance...
Today we were blessed with a wonderful homily
on the person of Jesus.
It is fitting for us to reflect in a special way
on the words of Saint Paul in his letter to the Philippians.
Do you look at the labels on the inside of your clothes?
I do. For some odd reason I find it interesting to know
the percentages of the different fibers.
Some are 100% cotton or 100% polyester.
But many of my items of clothing
are combinations of two or more fibers.
I like the feel of fabric with a small percent of spandex.
It just feels more comfortable.
Five or ten percent spandex or nylon
is just the right amount.
We believe that Jesus is both Divine and human
but we tend to want to put a percentage on each.
Have you ever asked yourself when he
was acting as his human self
or when he was acting as his Divine self?
Consider when his friend Lazarus died.
Jesus wept when he heard the news...
that was clearly human. Right?
When he stood at the entrance and called
for Lazarus to come out...
that was clearly Divine. Right?
This example seems pretty easy to understand.
He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying,
"My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will."
As we picture Jesus in the garden praying
we see his humanity and his divinity for a moment,
almost in turmoil.
He enters the garden to pray fully knowing
the physical suffering that awaited him.
His humanity is fully engaged as he contemplates
his most certain agony.
He calls out to the father...maybe there is another
option here for our salvation.
Within the same thought his divine
connection breaks through...
yet, not as I will, but as you will.
He reaches out to his Father...his
Divine connection for strength.
He needs to draw upon
his Divine Connection with the Father,
because he is fully human...
We tend to forget that Jesus was not
10% human and 90% Divine.
He was 100% human and 100% Divine at the same time.
He came down from heaven to save us.
He left his heaven where all is perfect in the Trinity.
He came down and fully embraced his
humanity to become one of us.
He experienced all of our human emotions,
joy, sorrow, and pain;
to name just a few.
So when he calls out from the cross...
it is humanity that cries out
but it is his Divinity that surrenders
to the pain and agony out of love for us.
Jesus was granted the strength and the stamina
to withstand the horrific pain and agony of the crucifixion
precisely because of his Divinity.
We see something similar in our martyrs.
They of course are fully human but,
they have developed a strong divine connection.
This connection gives them the strength and the grace
to remain faithful even unto their death.
And about three o'clock Jesus cried
out in a loud voice,
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"which means,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Within moments of his calling out to the Father
Jesus gave up his spirit.
He surrendered all of his humanity back to the Father
as he took his final breath.
Jesus surrendered his human self so that
we might have a part in his eternal life.
There is no way that we, as humans,
can express enough gratitude.
May we strive every day
to come closer to loving Jesus 100%.
May the Passion of our Lord Jesus
call you to surrender your heart to him.
~~~Peace~~~
