Preaching among the Palms

Fr. Grady honors the Daughters of the King and their history of prayer, service, and evangelism. The readings for today also teach us about prayer, service, and evangelism. The Acts passage talks about how in the first days of the church powerful prayer led to humble service, which in turn led to dynamic and effective evangelism.

Fr. Jeff recalls how a professor at the theological school where he studied used to challenge his students with the question: "When and where was the first Eucharist celebrated?" You can make a convincing argument that it happens on the road to Emmaus, which is the subject of today's Gospel reading from Luke 24. The church today is much like the disciples on the road who encounter Jesus without recognizing him. Today the church still practices the ministry of preaching, which Jesus himself did for the two disciples; and we still administer the Eucharist, which Jesus also does for the first time with the two disciples.

Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection and gives them parting commands and gifts that will help them fulfill his commands. Thomas misses out on the first encounter and claims he will not believe unless he can probe the risen Lord's bodily wounds. Fr. Jeff accounts for doubt as being potentially related to Thomas's moniker: the Twin. To doubt is not to be less than sure; to doubt is to be double-minded, to place a constraint on our willingness to believe. But God has a way of tearing away our excuses...

Fr. Grady recapitulates the events of Holy Week and reminds us how differently Jesus died from the thieves with whom he was crucified and how he alone rose from the dead, achieving victory over sin and death. The disorder of the previous several days has given way to a totally new order and new reality for all who believe in the risen one.

Fr. Jeff breaks down the Gospel of Matthew's resurrection appearance of Jesus to the two Marys into two simple ideas: see and go. Throughout this passage, again and again, the command to see and go is repeated, until the very end of the chapter, when Jesus commands his disciples to go to all nations baptizing the converted and see that he will be with them always, even unto the end of the age.

Today we meditate on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fr. Jeff explains that "passion" in Latin means "suffering" and is also the root word of our term "passive." While Jesus suffers of course on the cross, he is by no means passive. Christ is in complete control of what happens to him this day. He knows what is to happen to him, he comes forward on his own to meet the arresting soldiers, he exposes the fraudulent earthly powers of imperial Rome and its representatives. Much of what Jesus then is command of on Good Friday he has already told his disciples; he has told them what will happen and what it all means, and it all comes true today.

Maundy Thursday commemorates the institution of Christ's new commandment, or "mandatum" in Latin, to love one another as Christ has loved us. That love is demonstrated by Christ when he washes the feet of his disciples. John's Gospel tells us that "having loved his own in the world, he loved them to the end." But the foot-washing is not the end, as Jesus's exchange with Peter proves. Jesus tells Peter that he will not understand the meaning of the foot-washing until "afterward," which Fr. Jeff argues is a reference to the crucifixion, when Jesus finally loves his friends "to the end."

Palm Sunday celebrates what is often called the "triumphal entry" of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. But what is a triumphal entry, and how did it function in the world of Ancient Rome? Fr. Jeff explains how Jesus thoughtfully subverts this pagan show of ostentatious power, showing just what kind of king he really is: the king who will triumph over not his earthly enemies but sin and death, the enemies of humanity.

In today's Gospel Jesus restores the sight of a man who was born blind. Fr. Grady explains how the biblical tradition points toward the action of God in the world to bring light to the world and illumination to the world.

Today's long reading from John 4 recounts the conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. Their exchange of questions guides three transitions: from the humanity to the divinity of Jesus; from earthly thirst to spiritual thirst; and from the past worship of the ancestral "fathers" to the future worship of the Father. Fr. Jeff traces out the themes and explains what is so important about the well of Jacob and the living water spoken of by Christ.