6th Sunday of Lent – (Palm Sunday)
(Sunday, 20th March 2016)
Fans or Followers? – (Luke 22:14-23:56)
Palm Sunday has that name because the Jewish people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with great joy and celebration wavingpalms and singing songs of triumph. Isn’t it hard to believe that less than a week later, the very same people will roar, “Crucify him, crucify him”, after He had been accused of blasphemy because He was saying that He was the Son of God. They then dragged Him outside, beat Him, spat at Him, whipped the skin off His back, loaded a heavy cross on Him, laughed at Him when He fell and jeered at Him when He was nailed to it. During those dreadful hours, where were the people He had cured and all the people He had helped? Would no body stand up for Him? What if you had been one of the ones He had cured? What would you have done?
It seems Jesus had lots of FANS but very few FOLLOWERS. There is a great difference between them.
A fan will come and go and doesn’t really make a serious commitment. Whose music used you listen to 3 years ago? What labels were fashionable? Have these things changed? We become fans of all sorts of things and then drop them in time. Our tastes change and our needs change.
A follower on the other hand does just that: they follow. They allow themselves to be lead and guided which obviously requires both FAITH and COMMITMENT.
If I don’t have faith in the Lord, if I don’t believe He loves me or that He is good, why on earth would I follow Him? So how do I know He loves me? Why should I follow Him? Simple answer: because He died for me. The Creator of the universe thinks you are worth dying for. He proved His love not just by giving us gifts (all of creation) or by telling us (in the bible) but by His actions, by actually dying for me to pay for my sin so that I can go to heaven.
How can I live my commitment to the Lord? Let’s get the basics right: God as a Father wants to gather His family around the table only once a week. He wants to speak to us in the readings and feed us with the Eucharist, the body of Jesus. How amazing! Along with Holy Mass we need daily prayer. It doesn’t have to be long but it does have to be consistent. We have to pray daily because the battle is daily. One decade of the rosary a day is a great start.
Where does the Good Lord fit in to my life? Am I a fan of Jesus or a follower? If we are honest, Jesus doesn’t really need just fans. They will come for the Allelujas of Palm Sunday but will just as easily join in the chorus of “Crucify him” when the crowd turns against him. Jesus needs followers. He needs you and He needs you now.
Let’s be practical. What is the difference between a fan and a follower on a daily basis? Think of Facebook. Will I like a pro-Jesus, pro Catholic or a Pro-life post? It’s good to remember that Jesus is pro-life! Will I stand by Him in school, college or work? If someone says the Church is wrong or a waste of time, you don’t have to start a fight. Just share the truth. “My faith helps me.” Nobody can say, “No it doesn’t.” We all know that this is hard but we follow Jesus by sharing the JOY of our faith. You don’t have to understand everything our Church teaches, but do ask questions about your faith so that you can be a better follower. We don’t have to turn off our brain to follow Jesus. We don’t have to follow him blindly. Look up good catholic sites (catholicanswers.org) for good answers to many questions on the faith.
The good Lord needs followers and today He is calling you. It’s great that we rejoice and welcome him into our lives on the days of our First Communion or Confirmation. But He needs us to stand by Him in the difficult days too. What a privilege it is to stand at his side as He walks heavenwards with us. Filled with His Holy Spirit, with joy and love let us go out there and share Him and His Church with the world which is so hungry for Him. You are not alone. With God on our side we are never out-numbered.
Fr. Patrick Cahill