Deacon Mike Meyer / Sunday, April 2, 2023 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Fickle Faith Homily for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A We humans are fickle folks. We’ll switch our loyalties, interests, and affections for as little as $1.00 off a hamburger. We’ll trade our trusty technology for the latest upgrade as soon as it’s available and foolishly flipflop from fad to fad, as popular opinion dictates. Today’s readings make clear, that our faith can be fickle, too. Our fickle faith is evident in the name and readings we assign to this day in the liturgical calendar – Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. We began Mass today with palms in hand celebrating our Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem crying, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” Only minutes later, we abandon our Lord in the most tormented and terrifying time of his life as we shout in one voice, “Let him be crucified.” Why are we so fickle, especially when it comes to faith? Well, we’re always looking for something better. We lack the commitment to stick with something or someone through thick or thin, to pay the price that true success and long-lasting relationships demand. We dutifully receive the sacraments but can’t seem to prioritize weekly Mass attendance over sports, sleeping in, or Sunday brunch. Like Judas Iscariot, we zealously follow Jesus for a while, but when his way starts making demands of us, we betray him for the next shiny object that comes along. We might also lack the courage of our convictions. We don’t trust ourselves and the choices we make enough to stand up for what we believe in. We quickly change course and deny our baptismal mission as Christ’s priests, prophets, and kings whenever we’re challenged or criticized. Like Peter, we boldly exclaim that we’ll never deny Jesus when Christianity’s all the rage, but deny him not once, not twice, but three times, when people hate us and insult us and denounce us as evil on account of him (Luke 6:22). And sometimes we’re just afraid. Christianity’s hard, and many have died for their Christian beliefs. That’s scary, so instead of believing that “all shall be well”[1] when we put our trust in God, we live in fear, and run away. Remember, only one Apostle stood at the foot of the cross; the rest fled in fear. Fickle faith is a sorry way to live our lives. It’s unstable, ungrounded, and it can never lead to the fullness of joy and happiness that God promises to those who believe. So how do we change our sorry state? Oddly enough, by clinging to the One we betray, deny, and run away from. “Jesus was certain that his future did not rest in the frail, fickle, fragile hands of human favor.”[2] He stayed true to his mission, obedient to the point of death on a cross, and he was greatly exalted, as Saint Paul tells us. We need to “set our face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7), we need to imitate Jesus, whose perfect example of steadfast faith is the only way to get to heaven. And if you want to see how he did it, come to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, where we faithfully receive Jesus’ great gift of himself in the Eucharist and commit ourselves to serve our brothers and sisters. Come to the Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday, where we resolutely stand with our Lord in his suffering and see firsthand what Jesus means when he says that there’s no greater love than to offer one’s life for a friend. And most definitely join us as we confirm and celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord at the Great Easter Vigil or at Easter Sunday Mass. We are fickle folks, but Jesus came to show us the better way, his way, the only way. We need to “exchange the fickle fortunes of living life by sheer whimsy for the more productive and satisfying adventure of being guided by God.”[3] It’s up to us. Fickle or faithful, it’s our choice. I hope to see you later this week. Readings: Matthew 21:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66 [1] Julian of Norwich, The Showings (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1978), 151. [2] Alicia Britt Chloe, 40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 147. [3] W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999). An Encounter with Jesus Living Stones Print 573 Please login or register to post comments.