SERMON PREACHED ON PALM SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 2006

BY FR. TONY NOBLE

Luke 23:43 "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

What an extraordinary thing to say!

The other 6 “words” that come from the cross are understandable.

"Father forgive them" - we would expect nothing less from the Son of God.

"I thirst" is an obvious cry.

"Behold thy mother" - an obvious concern for his sorrowing mother.

"My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me": an understandable utterance by Jesus of psalm 22.

Finally, "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit", and "It is accomplished" expressed the completion of his life's work.

But to find time to offer comfort to the repentant thief - to promise him heaven itself on that very day - surely this is too much? Unless, of course, this is the whole point. If Jesus hangs on the cross as a victim, then the sacrifice he offers is for the eternal salvation of the world. And in promising heaven to the repentant thief Jesus reveals the whole point, the whole purpose of his death. It was to reconcile the world to God. To hold out the promise of heaven. To join heaven to earth. More than all the other words, these words to the rependant thief are said to us: "You will be with me in paradise."

Everything about Holy Week reveals this. Yet we cannot ignore the violence, the horror, the agony as we enter these days of Holy Week. Heaven does seem a little far away from what we encompassing. All those awful things which make up the passion of Jesus. Indeed we soon move from the high of the Palm Procession in this liturgy to the reality of the Passion. The cries of Hosanna have already changed to Crucify him!

The mystery of Holy Week is that in all this Jesus is fulfilling his mission. And as this week progresses he does not shirk from the task before him. In fact we are looking at the one who is both Son of Man and our Great High Priest.

In the Epistle to the Hebrews this is presented in two ways. Firstly, it proclaims that Jesus is "a priest forever after the order of Melchisedek." That is, as both as victim and priest Jesus offers the perfect sacrifice on the cross. It is the sacrifice of perfect love. For self-giving love is the eternal quality of Jesus. Secondly, the Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that this sacrifice of eternal love is offered in time and history, and in a particular place. What is referred to in as “the scandal of particularity." God chose this week, this place, this time in history - he chose it particularly.

Everything about Jesus, from his incarnation to his resurrection, was "particular." It is only because of our particular embrace of Christ's sacrifice that we are saved and made free.

This week we will go on an amazing journey centered on those events in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. But we do not just look back to that sacrifice all those years ago - we also look forward to the eternal sacrifice of love which it reveals.

This will be especially so on Maundy Thursday. In the evening of Maundy Thursday, at the Last Supper Jesus doesn't just celebrate the Passover: he endows it with a new meaning. As the apostolic band remembered the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, Jesus added to that rite of thanksgiving a newer rite which presents his death and resurrection.

The great Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsay said: "The climax of God's mercies in history is the death of the Christ, in which God's whole work in the world, and in Israel, is summed up."

And so in Mark 14:25 Jesus says at the Last Supper: " I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God."

These words give the Eucharist not just a spiritual meaning and dimension but proclaim that in every Eucharist we celebrate we are caught up in Holy Week, and taken by that to the Kingdom of God.

Good Friday cannot be understood without Maundy Thursday. And both cannot be understood without the Resurrection.

So the liturgies we celebrate on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night are really one continuous liturgy, celebrating one great reality. Shortly we will sing the familiar words: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."

Was there ever a day when they had so much meaning?