On Palm Sunday we experience the greatness and the poverty of the human spirit. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds acclaimed him as the Son of David. But as he stood trial before Pilate, the same crowds called for his crucifixion.

On Palm Sunday, near the end of Lent, we have come in touch with the greatness and poverty of our lives. Throughout this season we have reflected on our sin, but we have also experienced God’s grace in communion, community, and scripture.

On Palm Sunday, we also hear about the greatness and poverty of Jesus. Jesus was in the form of God, but he took on human form. He had all greatness as God, but he did not cling to it. “Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,” Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians says. Jesus humbled himself to become like us and to experience what we experience - even death. “Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.”

Sometimes in a single day we experience unfettered joy and inconsolable grief. A child is born, but someone dies. We receive mercy from a stranger, but we fail to love our neighbor. The extremes of human life are vast. But Christ came to us embracing both extremes and all that is in the middle. All, all of human life he redeems and makes his own.

Written by Paul Turner. Liturgy Training Publications
Copyright 2004, Archdiocese of Chicago