March 24, 2024: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

The crowds shout as Jesus enters, acclaiming Him with "Hosanna", and calling Him "blessed" and "Son of David", all titles that would indicate He is the Savior.

Yet as the scene unfolds later that week, they don't fully grasp what it means for Him to be the Savior.

He doesn't come with violent force to conquer evil.  Rather, in obedience to the Father, He is an Almighty Servant Who submits Himself to evil, to be even conquered by evil through the excruciating death of the Cross.

Yet that is where God works by the power that He alone possesses.  He regards the sacrifice of Jesus as sufficient, and so Christ rises, exalted by God.  And now we come to the annual custom of Holy Week, hailing Him as Savior.  We are called to move beyond the mindset of the crowds and embrace deep within us what it means for Him to be our Savior as we enter into the Paschal Mystery.  He is the One Who frees us from sin so we can be who God created us to be, a reflection of His presence in our world.