April 14th

Post date: Apr 16, 2019 2:56:24 PM

Palm Sunday- April 14, 2019 Homily by Fr. Karl Schray

The people who put Christ to death were not a uniquely evil bunch of

people, acting from despicable motives. They were ordinary people.

They belonged to the same human family as we do. In each,

we glimpse something of ourselves, of our failings, and the need for grace.

Let us look at the characters in Jesus’ Passion Story

and the motives from which they acted:

The Pharisees—These were religious men who devoted all their energy

trying to be devout and studying God’s Law.

But they were convinced of their own righteousness (a dangerous

conviction that has sometimes led to atrocities like the Crusades and

the Inquisition). Believing in something does not give anyone the right

to condemn or do harm to others.

Caiphas—He was perhaps thinking mainly about religious orthodoxy

and how easily people get led astray by false messiahs.

The Church sometimes condemned heretics to burn at the stake,

thinking it was doing God a service.

Pilate—He was thinking about his high office and the preservation of law

and order at a time of great unrest. He knew that Jesus was innocent,

but he feared trouble would ensue if he did not give the religious leaders

what they wanted. Most people know what is right,

but they don’t always have the courage to do it.

Judas—Most likely he was a disillusioned man. But even he

came to recognize and condemn the evil he had done.

He could not live with the killing of an innocent man.

At times, we all can betray our ideals, if not our friends.

Judas didn’t think God would forgive him. And he couldn’t

or wouldn’t forgive himself. Have you ever known that despair?

Peter—Simply a weak impulsive man. Any one of us would probably

have denied Jesus in the same circumstances.

Peter at least shed tears over his denials. Do we?

The soldiers—They were simply carrying out orders. The Nazis made the

same excuse. We, too, are good at blaming others for our bad choices.

Do we refuse to accept responsibility for our cowardly acts and omissions?

The crowd—they got carried away.

Manipulators and bullies love to pick a scapegoat to blame.

Do we go along with and take refuge in the crowd? “Everybody is doing it,”

we protest.

Of course, the main character in this horror story is

Jesus who shows us the only way to overcome evil is with good, with love.

Subtle evil sleeps in us all. Our Masses and Services of Holy Week

provide us with an opportunity to look at this.

Christ will help us to confront the evil that is in ourselves and overcome it.

He helps us believe that he was speaking about us also when he said:

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”