The Obedience of Love

Palm Sunday inaugurates Passiontide and sets before us the paradox at the heart of Christian faith: the King who conquers by suffering, the God who saves by dying. The liturgy invites us to contemplate both Christ’s royal identity and the profound depths of His self-emptying love.

The Gospel opens with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem—an intentional and prophetic act. Jesus deliberately fulfills Zechariah’s oracle:

“Behold, your king comes to you;triumphant and victorious is he,humble and riding on an ass,on a colt, the foal of an ass.” (Zech 9:9)

This is no accident. Christ reveals Himself as the Messianic King, but His kingship is of a different order. The crowd’s exuberance—cloaks laid down, branches waving—is short-lived. What begins in public praise will soon end in public scorn. The King will wear a crown of thorns.

The other readings frame this paradox. Isaiah's "Suffering Servant" allows Himself to be beaten and spat upon, not because He is powerless, but because He entrusts Himself fully to the Father: “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.” (Isa 50:7) This trust, this obedience, anticipates the kenosis—Christ’s self-emptying—described in Philippians 2:6-11. Though in the form of God, He did not cling to equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming obedient unto death.

But why such radical obedience? Why such humiliation?

The answer is love. Not love in the abstract, but love poured out for sinners. The Son’s mission is not one of compulsion, but of charity. The Cross is not divine wrath inflicted upon an innocent victim—it is the eternal Son willingly offering Himself in solidarity with humanity, bearing the full weight of sin to restore us to communion with the Father.

This is the mystery of redemption: the infinite God, in Christ, assumes the burden we could never carry. In His Passion, He bridges the infinite gap caused by sin—not by dismissing justice, but by satisfying it through mercy. His life is not taken; it is offered.

Palm Sunday is a summons. Will we follow this King—not just in the procession, but to the Cross? Will we allow our own hearts to be conformed to this cruciform love?

The Obedience of LoveChrist entered Jerusalem to give His life in love for you. Where in your life is He inviting you to embrace the Cross with Him—not as a burden, but as a path to resurrection?