Readings:
\nMark 11:1-10; Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47<\/p>\n
What a waste.
\nAn entire alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil
\nbroken and poured upon the head
\nof an obscure rabbi
\nfrom one of the more distant and impoverished districts.
\nIt could have been sold
\nand the money spent for some practical purpose.
\nWhat a waste.
\nIn a few days he would be dead anyway.<\/p>\n
What a waste.
\nJesus arrived in Jerusalem to the joyous cries of the crowds,
\nready to accept him as their king, as David\u2019s heir.
\nNow could have been the moment
\nwhen he leveraged his political capital
\nand brought change that we could believe in.
\nWhat a waste.
\nHe squandered that political capital
\nby claiming to be more than a king,
\nby claiming to be the Christ, the son of the Blessed One,
\nby claiming that God is his Abba, his father.
\nAnd now he is publicly tormented in a shameful death.<\/p>\n
What a waste.
\n\u201cThough he was in the form of God,\u201d
\nthe eternal Son, fully sharing in divinity,
\n\u201cJesus did not regard equality with God
\nsomething to be grasped.
\nRather, he emptied himself,\u201d
\npouring himself out like the perfumed oil
\nfrom the woman\u2019s alabaster jar,
\n\u201ctaking the form of a slave,
\ncoming in human likeness,
\nhumbling himself. . .
\nbecoming obedient to the point of death,
\neven death on a cross.\u201d
\nWhat a foolish, senseless waste.<\/p>\n
But the foolishness of God is wiser than worldly wisdom.
\n\u201cThe Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced;
\nI have set my face like flint,
\nknowing that I shall not be put to shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because he willingly poured out his life
\nfor love of God
\nand for love of each and every one of us,
\n\u201cGod greatly exalted him,\u201d
\nraising him up and revealing him
\nto be the Lord of creation;
\nraising him up so that the lives of all those
\nwho have poured themselves out
\nin the cause of love,
\nlike precious ointment from an alabaster jar,
\nmight rise also with him,
\ntheir lives not wasted
\nbut truly found, saved even unto eternity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At our parish, we try to keep the homilies short on this day, given the length of the liturgy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1321,91],"tags":[1906],"class_list":["post-13789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies","category-liturgical-year","tag-palm-sunday"],"yoast_head":"\n