[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Palm Sunday 2024]
Here’s a suggestion for the producers of the Jeopardy
program (that’s the game show where they give you the answer and you’ve got to
figure out the question):
The answer is: The only Gospel in which the following line appears: “There was a young man following [Jesus] who was covered by nothing but a linen cloth. As they seized him he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.”
Do you know the question? You should—if you were paying attention to the account of the Lord’s Passion that was just proclaimed. The correct question is: What is the Gospel of Mark?
Now the fact that this verse appears only in Mark has led many Scripture scholars throughout the centuries to scratch their heads and ask: “Why? Why does Mark (and only Mark) include this seemingly unimportant detail in his account of our Lord’s suffering and death? What’s the point?”
Well, some, like Scripture scholar William Barclay, have come to this conclusion: Mark adds this rather obscure detail to the story, because he was that young boy. It’s Mark’s way of saying, “I was there. I saw it all happen right before my eyes.” (Remember, Mark was not one of the twelve. Many years later he wrote a Gospel, but he was not one of the twelve Apostles.)
Based on what we are told in the Book of Acts, Barclay theorizes that the Last Supper had actually taken place in the home of Mark and his family, which is where Judas initially took the temple guards. However, our Lord and the Apostles had already left for Gethsemane. The arrival of Judas and the soldiers woke up young Mark, who had already gone to bed. He then overheard Judas suggest that they go across the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane, since Jesus often went there with his disciples. Mark decided to follow. And so he wrapped his bed sheet around himself and went out into the night. Hence, he was there in Gethsemane when the arrest occurred. Now, that’s just a theory—William Barclay’s theory—but I think it makes a lot of sense. It’s quite plausible.
I mention all this today because we are at the beginning of what should be the most important week of the year for us (spiritually speaking): Holy Week. This is a special time, a grace-filled seven days, in which we all have the opportunity to leave some things behind that we need to leave behind. Think again of this verse of Scripture. There we’re told that Mark left something behind. He left behind a linen cloth in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Now, please don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting that we leave our clothes behind during Holy Week. I wouldn’t want any of us to spend the next seven days in jail!) But there are some things that we should leave behind and can leave behind us—if we choose to make Holy Week holy. You know, I think it’s tragic—absolutely tragic—that for many Catholics and other Christians it’s “business as usual” during this sacred time (except perhaps for some extra shopping or cooking).
All that having been said, here are some (just some) of the things which we could happily leave behind during the next seven days:
Number 1: We could leave behind our misconceptions about God. Some of us may think of God as the big policeman in the sky. Some of us may think of God as the heavenly IRS man whose sole purpose is to get us to “pay our dues” in this life and in eternity. On the other end of the spectrum, some of us may think of God as the “heavenly creampuff” who doesn’t care how we live or how we treat one another. Meditating deeply on the love and holiness of God during Holy Week can correct those misconceptions. We can leave them behind us, as we should.
Number 2: Holy Week gives us an opportunity to leave behind any anger we may have in our heart toward God, because of our sufferings. The more we understand what Jesus Christ suffered for us—the more we understand what he went through for us on Holy Thursday and Good Friday—the more we will see the relative smallness of our own crosses and the more we will desire to offer up our small sufferings, in union with his, for the salvation of the world.
Number 3: Holy Week is an opportunity to leave behind confusion and doubt. If we’re confused about the meaning of life; if we’re confused about why we’re here on this planet; if we doubt our value as human persons created in God’s image and likeness, then we need to drink in the message of Holy Week; and we need to drink deeply.
And finally (and most importantly): Holy Week is an opportunity to leave behind our sins—especially any sins that we haven’t been willing to face and confess in the past; any sins that we’ve rationalized; any sins that we’ve been burdened by but too ashamed to mention. And here at St. Pius, you’ll have the opportunity to do that on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday, because we’ll be having confessions on each of those days here in church from 12-1p.m.
What will you leave behind this Holy Week? I invite you to ponder that question today; it’s an important one. It’s my prayer this morning that each and every one of us will leave behind everything—and I mean everything!—that we need to.