The Father Vindicated
by Fr. David M. Knight
March 24, 2024
Palm (Passion) Sunday (Week VI of Lent)
Lectionary No. 38
(Mark 11:1-10) Isaiah 50:4–7; Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6–1; Mark 14:1-15:47
"Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:11
Palm Sunday tells us three things:
Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph to be defeated and die. But his defeat was his victory.
Jesus was “obedient to the point of death.”
“Because of this, God greatly exalted him.” He is “Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Is the Father who sent Jesus to die consistent with the loving Father we have been seeing?
Yes, because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may… have eternal life” (John 3:16).
No, because he sent his Son to die a horrible death. Jesus, in his human consciousness, did not see how this could end in victory. But he blindly believed, trusted, loved.
His obedience vindicated the Father by letting him fulfill his plan. Now we see Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus’s faith, trust, and obedient love revealed the Truth and Goodness of his Being as One with the Father and Spirit. “God greatly exalted him.”
When we don’t understand why our Father lets bad things happen, our faith, hope, and “steadfast love” reveal his divine life in us—to the glory of God the Father.
“I will boast of the things that show my weakness… that the power of Christ may dwell in me...” (2Corinthians 11:30-13:4).
ACTION: When you don’t understand, think, trust, and wait.
PRAYER: “Father, in you I trust” (Psalm 25:2).
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
