Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Not a war horse. A donkey. The crowd cheers. By Friday the same crowd will demand his execution. The liturgy forces you to be in that crowd, not watching it. You wave the palms. You hear the Passion. You are Judas, Peter, Pilate, and the mob. All of them. Every one.

Brother, the Philippians hymn is the most important text a Catholic man can study. It is the blueprint for Christian masculinity: though he was in the form of God - though he had all the power - he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. He did not cling to his status. He emptied himself. He took the form of a slave. He humbled himself. He became obedient to the point of death.

The world tells men to grasp. Grasp for power, for status, for control, for recognition. Jesus - the most powerful person who ever lived - released his grip. He emptied rather than filled. He descended rather than climbed. He served rather than commanded. And because of this, God greatly exalted him.

The pattern is clear: emptying precedes exaltation. Descent precedes glory. The cross precedes Easter. There is no shortcut. Every man who tries to skip the emptying and jump to the exaltation will find himself holding a crown with no authority behind it.

Isaiah's Suffering Servant sets his face like flint. He gives his back to those who beat him. He does not shield his face from buffets and spitting. This is not passivity. This is the most aggressive form of love in the universe - the deliberate choice to absorb the blow rather than return it, because the mission is more important than the ego.

At the moment of Jesus' death in the Passion reading, the whole church kneels. There is nothing to say. Just knees on the ground and silence. That is the posture of a man who has understood what happened today.

Today at Mass, do not be a spectator. When you wave the palm, wave it as a man who knows what is coming. When you hear the Passion, find yourself in it - where are you Judas? Where are you Peter? Where are you Pilate? When the church kneels at the death of Christ, kneel like a man who owes his life to what happened on that wood.

Bring the palms home. Place them behind the crucifix. They stay all year. And this afternoon, read the Philippians hymn one more time: he emptied himself. Ask God where he is asking you to empty yourself this Holy Week.

Lord, you had everything and you emptied yourself. I grasp and cling and climb. Teach me to release. Teach me the descent that leads to glory. This week, I walk with you from palm to cross. I will not look away. I will not skip to Easter. Empty me. Amen.