IT’S  A  MYSTERY 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Palm Sunday  is, “It’s a Mystery.”

How many times in our life have we said – while scratching our head and squeezing the skin of our face and maybe rubbing our chin, “It’s a mystery”?

How old do we have to be before we start to say, “It’s A Mystery”?

This week – Holy Week - we enter into the big mystery of life – of Christ – and of each other.

It’s a mystery!

LAST NIGHT: OLIVER WITH A TWIST

Last night I went over to Marian Hall in our school to see our high school kids put on a new version of Oliver Twist. Brothers and sisters, moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents, sat there seeing their son or daughter,  brother or sister, or nephew or niece singing and dancing and staring in a musical entitled, “Oliver With a Twist.”

It was excellent. I sat there wondering what everyone was thinking and feeling – hearing and seeing. I’m sure parents were crying and laughing – wondering and being surprised – and seeing the whole life of their son or daughter up to now – on stage and in their minds and hearts.

I’m sure some said inwardly, shaking their head outwardly, “It’s a mystery.”

After the show was over – after hugs and congratulations – after flowers – a man spotted me and said, “I was at the 5 o’clock for Palm Sunday – earlier this evening – and I thought of a homily for Palm Sunday you gave 5 years ago.”

That was total surprise and I said, “What did I preach on?” I don’t even remember what I preached on last Sunday – let alone 5 years ago.

“He said, ‘You said, This is not a bad week to be quiet.’”

I said, “Thank you – I was sitting here tonight saying to myself, ‘I gotta get a homily for tomorrow, Palm Sunday. You gave me an idea.’”

This is a good week to be quiet. This is a good week – to take a nice walk – somewhere – by oneself – to be quiet and reflective. This is a good week to

drop into church when there is nothing going on – and to just sit here. This is a good week – Palm Sunday – Spy Wednesday – Holy Thursday – Good Friday – Holy Saturday – Easter Sunday – to enter into the mysteries of Christ and oneself – and of life.

MYSTERIES

Life is mystery – surprise – not knowing what’s around the next corner – what’s going to happen tonight or tomorrow.

Death….  Crashes …. Good News …. Bad News …. Births ….

Mystery is a religious word. “The mystery of faith….” “The Mysteries of the Rosary….” In the opening prayers – from the back of the church – we heard, this morning, “Today we gather  together to herald with the whole Church the beginning of the celebration of  our Lord’s Pascal Mystery, that is to say, of his Passion and Resurrection. For it was to accomplish this mystery that he entered his own city of Jerusalem. Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that being made by his grace partakers of the Cross, we may have a share also in his Resurrection and in his life.”

MYSTERY: THE ONGOING CONVERSATION

I would dare to say, “Mystery – Go Figure – Trying to Understand – our life – is the Number One conversation we have with ourselves every day of our lives – and during the night – sometimes when we can’t sleep.

Why me? Why did this happen? Why was I born? When will I die?

As Shakespeare put it in his play – As You Like It:               “All the worlds a stage, 

          And all the men and women merely players. 

          They have their exits and their entrances. 

          And one man in his time plays many parts, 

          His acts being seven ages….”

This is a good week to sit there and see ourselves on stage – playing our parts.  This is a good week to sit there – and pray there – and get in touch with the mysteries of our life – as well as the others in our lives – as well as Christ’s footsteps compared with our footsteps.

It’s all so – so mysterious.

I like to push using the rosary not just for Hail Mary’s – but also for prayers like, “Thanks …. Help …. Wow …. Lord, increase my faith….”

I like to push from the pulpit that we use our rosary as worry and wondering beads. We all know the 5 Joyful Mysteries, the 5 Sorrowful Mysteries, the 5 Glorious Mysteries and now the 5 Light Giving Mysteries. What a great way of categorizing moments of our lives: Annunciation moments, phone calls that changed our lives…. Visitation moments, the doorbell rings, Births, Big presentation moments in our lives – in church, school, wherever, Findings – so too the sufferings, the agonies of life, divorces, fights, the arguing that cause headaches in the garden of our brain, and on and on and on.

CONCLUSION

This is a good week to enter deeply in the mysteries of our lives and see that we are walking in the footsteps of Christ.

Some days all is celebration. These are Palm Sunday moments. Some days we have the big meal – these are our Holy Thursday moments – when we are in communion with each other. Some days are horror and the horrible – moments filled falls and death and crosses – these are our Good Fridays – but because we are people of faith and hope and love – we know what Christ announces next Sunday – there is the mystery of resurrection – Easter - the mystery resurrection and life for all eternity with God and those who have gone before us. Amen.