The People of Life, Born from the Cross

“When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished’; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (Jn 19:30). Afterwards, the Roman soldier “pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (Jn 19:34). Everything has now reached its complete fulfillment. The “giving up” of the spirit describes Jesus’ death, a death like that of every other human being, but it also seems to allude to the “gift of the Spirit”, by which Jesus ransoms us from death and opens before us a new life. It is the very life of God which is now shared with man. It is the life which through the Sacraments of the Church – symbolized by the blood and water flowing from Christ’s side – is continually given to God’s children, making them the people of the New Covenant. From the Cross, the source of life, the “people of life” is born and increases” (The Gospel of Life, n.51).

Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16
Is 50:4-7
Phil 2:6-11
Mk 14:1—15:47 or 15:1-39

Click to view a YouTube video with preaching hints for Palm Sunday…

As the quote above indicates, the Church as the People of Life is born from the Cross. Jesus’ passion and death are his self-giving, and the power of that self-giving is given to us, that we might give ourselves to one another in serving, protecting, and celebrating the gift of life.

The preaching on Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter can be the opportunity to ground the pro-life convictions of the congregation right in the heart of our Faith. In other words, being “pro-life” and defending life are not things “added on” to our faith, or optional, “extra-curricular” activities. On the contrary, the whole culmination of the liturgical year leads us to the days when Jesus, by dying, destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life. That is why the liturgy, especially in these days, is the most appropriate place to speak about life as a gift of inestimable value.

In particular, Jesus endured the rigors of the passion – described in today’s liturgy in great detail – precisely because of how much he values human life. He did it for us. He did it because he wanted to raise human life to the heights of heaven. Through his Passion and resurrection, he does not only conquer his own death; he overturns the very kingdom of death. We cannot listen to or believe the Gospel of the Passion without marveling at how much God loves each human life, and without feeling impelled to respond when that same human life is trampled underfoot. He gave his life for us; we are to give our lives for one another.

Christ died once for all, but Calvary continues today as innocent people are killed in abortion clinics nationwide. As John Paul II wrote, “It is precisely in the “flesh” of every person that Christ continues to reveal himself and to enter into fellowship with us, so that rejection of human life, in whatever form that rejection takes, is really a rejection of Christ” (The Gospel of Life, n. 104). The Gospel of the Passion continues in our day…