Dear parishioners and friends of Saint James,

Today is Palm Sunday and the last Sunday of Lent. As predicted, Lent flew by and we’re already almost at Easter. Traditionally, churches are packed with people today and Easter and I’m sure this year will not be different.

Although there are many and often long readings, the tone of the Mass is upbeat, at least at the beginning. People even get palms to take away and decorate their houses and cars! Since my conversion now decades ago, this has never been a nice celebration. As I have gotten older and as a priest, it is hard for me to feel good about what is happening to our Lord.

The First Sunday of Lent begins with the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness for forty days. This year we heard the short version from Mark’s Gospel, but Matthew’s Gospel gives us the three temptations posed to Jesus by the devil. Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread, the leap from the heights of the Temple and to bow down to the devil in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world.

The devil quotes Scripture to tempt Jesus to disobey his Father and Jesus uses Scripture to rebuke him. The temptations were forms in which Jesus could appeal to peoples’ expectations of a Messiah and assure him a strong following. Success.

Just imagine how it must have felt to enter Jerusalem amidst all that fanfare, people bowing down, laying their clothes and palm branches for the Lord to ride over on a donkey in homage to their triumphant King! But it was a case of mistaken identity. He would never be what they they wanted him to be. His Kingdom is not of this world and the now exuberant crowd will turn on him in less than a week’s time shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

As many times as Jesus plainly told his disciples he would suffer torture and be killed, they dismissed it as some kind of parable. Nobody believed he could or would die. If you were in Jesus’ position, would you stick to plan A? Why not just give in, be hailed as the greatest guy ever and live the good life, La Dolce Vita, be able to sing, “I did it my way”?

I know that Jesus did die for us and our sins. I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know why sometimes when I think and see constantly how little we regard what he did for us. Call me Scrooge if you like, but I’m not happy that someone loved me so much to die in such a terrible way and that my life often does not reflect the measure of gratitude I ought to have.

We all will be saying, “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.” Hopefully, by next Sunday more of us will actually mean it.

Prayerfully yours,
Fr. Bryan Patterson