Homily for Palm Sunday: Accept the Cross!

Below is the full text of the homily of the homily delivered by Bishop Paul Hinder on Palm Sunday at St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi.

Readings of the Day: Is 50:47; Phil 2:6-11; Mark 15:1-47 

We just heard in the passion reading the verse that has become the 5th Station in the Way of the Cross: “They compelled a passer-by who was coming in from the country, to carry the cross of Jesus; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mk 15:21).

Let us reflect a moment on this story that can help us to understand better our own life situation. Simon of Cyrene came from the country to the city of Jerusalem. Maybe he was on the way to the temple or wanted to join his family for the Passover. He happened to cross the execution squad leading Jesus to Calvary. All of a sudden, he was picked by the soldiers and forced “to carry the cross” of Jesus to the place of execution. In a space of a minute, he lost his freedom and became a slave. He had no other choice than to obey and to give up what he had in mind. He was forced to do what he certainly did not like to do.

Brothers and sisters, does it not happen in our own lives that suddenly we are burdened with a cross that we could not choose? It was simply imposed: a sudden serious sickness; the death of the husband, the wife or a child; the loss of all the earnings caused by an economic crisis, by a natural calamity or by war. And so on! We do not know what was going on in the heart of Simon of Cyrene while he was carrying unwillingly the cross of Jesus. It may well be that his first reaction was rebellion: “Why me? If only I had chosen another route to cross the city! At the end they may well crucify me instead of the man with the crown of thorns.” The fact, that the gospel mentions by name his sons Alexander and Rufus indicates that Simon became later with his family Christian. After the resurrection of Jesus, he must have come to believe in Christ the Lord. He realized that the cross he was forced to carry for Jesus on the last stretch to Calvary, was in fact the tool of redemption. The horrible instrument of torture on his shoulder had become also for him the key that opened the door to life.

Dear friends in Christ, let us live the Holy Week as companions of Simon of Cyrene, who against his will was obliged to take over the cross, but finally accepted it. The Holy Week is an excellent time to look into our own life with the mirror of Simon of Cyrene. There might well be a heavy cross I am forced to carry by the circumstances of the life. It might change my plans and projects. Am I able to accept it as a tool to life because I carry it behind Jesus, the redeemer? Since the time when Simon took over the cross of Jesus, millions of faithful got strength from this verse in the Bible. Why not me too?