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Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily delivered at St. Charles on March 24, 2002, Palm Sunday.
I invite all of you to spend this next week, Holy Week, reflecting on and praying in regard to the death and resurrection of Jesus. I also invite as many as possible this week to come and join in the reenactment of the holy mysteries of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. You are welcomed and are encouraged to participate especially since some of our would-be members will join us in the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil.
We reflect this week on the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus. There's one traditional interpretation that has to be dismissed, and there's a note in the Breaking Bread Hymnal that warns against this interpretation. The line "His blood be upon us and our children" has been interpreted historically as an anti-Semitic understanding of the death of Jesus as has the use of "The Jews" in John's Gospel. The Church is saying let's be careful with that interpretation; let's reject it. Let's remember that Jesus himself was Jewish and so was his mother. Historically, we are seeing more clearly, the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of the people, were the ones who initiated action against Jesus with the acquiescence of the Roman rulers. It's good for us to explore again the history that led to his death.
We also need to reflect on the theological meaning and purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is beautifully expressed in the Gospel, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all people to myself". The death and resurrection of Jesus were for the reconciliation of all. We have been told that he saved us from our sin. He is our redeemer and our hope.
We have to apply those mysteries to ourselves and to the church today. It is a little too simplistic for us as Catholics to identify the priest with Jesus and the rest of the laity with the unbelieving crowd. In the light of the recent scandals affecting us as a church, we need to reflect very deeply on the role we have as clergy and hierarchy. We are not only ministers of reconciliation and forgiveness but also subjects of reconciliation and forgiveness. We are not only agents of God's grace. We need God's grace and forgiveness. We need to identify ourselves not only with Jesus and the Holy Church but also with the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders who betrayed their trust. We especially reflect today and these past weeks on the issue of abuse of children and minors. As Catholics and as clergy, the last thing we need to do in order to protect the church or clergy is blame the victims. Remember that Jesus, the crucified one, was a victim and he sat on death row. As the Lamb of God, He identified with all victims and all who were vulnerable. We should not attempt to cover up our scandals, our sins, nor our crimes as a clergy or as a church. The response to the victims needs to be the old traditional method of confession. Truth telling, justice, and accountability are the only roads to any kind of real reconciliation and forgiveness.
So we begin Holy Week with the sacrament of reconciliation. I have invited nine other priests from the diocese not only to stand with me as ministers of reconciliation but also to acknowledge our need for accountability, for truth, and for justice. All of us have to recognize that the church doesn't save us and the hierarchy doesn't save us. We have one redeemer. Through the death and the resurrection of Jesus, we all have hope that out of destructiveness, out of abuse, out of lies, and out of death a new church will surface, redeemed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. The victim has conquered and will conquer.
Let's stand in that faith.
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or 2002
Homilies
Revised/reviewed March 30, 2002