Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord A
One
of our late priests used to tell the story
of being
assigned to an Adirondack parish
where,
during the fall, they would add
a
Sunday evening “Hunters’ Mass” to the schedule.
He
discovered a box of offering envelops in a rectory closet
specially
designed for the season:
they
were marked with a picture of a deer
and
the line, “We’re looking for a buck, too…”
St.
Hubert is the patron saint of hunters.
A
French nobleman of the very early Middle Ages,
Hubert
decided to go hunting one day—
Good
Friday, to be precise—
when
most everyone else was crowded into church.
A
beautiful stag came into view
and,
as he pursued it,
the animal turned toward Hubert,
who
saw the most amazing sight between its antlers:
a
vivid, radiant image of Christ hanging on his Cross.
Hubert
then heard a voice say,
“Unless
you turn to the Lord and lead a holy life,
you
shall quickly go down into hell.”
Hubert
realized he’d been pursuing
all the wrong things—
following
his own way, instead of God’s.
He
received instruction, was ordained a priest,
later
consecrated a bishop, and died a very holy man.
It’s
said that Hubert attracted many to the faith
by
his great skill with a bow and arrow…
…but
you can be quite sure
he
never went out hunting on Good Friday again.
What
will you be doing this Friday—Good
Friday?
That
day on which our Savor was crucified,
life
in Jerusalem went on much like it did any other day:
people
did not stop going about their usual business
just
because another convicted criminal was being dispatched.
But
for those who knew Jesus—
who
had heard him speak so powerfully of God’s love
and
seen him heal countless wounded bodies and broken hearts—
it
was a day unlike any other, before or since.
Yes,
this sin-weary world kept turning,
but it was given an entirely new axis
as
the holy and life-giving Cross
was
planted in the rocky soil of Golgotha.
The
days are now gone—which some of you, no doubt, remember—
when
businesses closed at noon on Good Friday,
and
many families shut off their radios and televisions
to
sit silently for three very solemn hours.
Our
times, rather, look a lot like those of Jesus:
everything
appears pretty much normal.
So I
challenge you to make this Friday different.
Your
work schedule may not allow you
to take part in any services here at church—
to take part in any services here at church—
but
that doesn’t mean it has to be another ordinary day.
Like
St. Hubert,
heed
the Lord’s call to change your course.
Rise
early or stay up later
to
spend some extra time in quiet prayer.
Embrace
the Church’s tradition of fasting.
Make
a visit to church,
even
if you can’t make it to the liturgy.
Lay
aside some of your usual pursuits,
recalling
to what extraordinary lengths
the
Lord was willing to go in order to pursue you:
emptying
himself utterly;
the
Almighty and Eternal God
becoming
obedient and humble
even
to the point of death.
What
will you be doing on Good Friday?
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