The Master is in Need

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, March 29, 2015

There’s a story of a preacher who got to the peak of his sermon as he was preaching. As he preached with passion and gusto, he was getting a boisterous feedback from his congregation who were elated and excited at his preaching. Towards the end of his sermon, he said, “This church should better start walking,” to which someone yelled from the back, “Yes, let the church walk, Reverend.” The preacher said again, “If this church is really going to walk, let it get up now, walk and even run.” Someone from the congregation shouted, “Yeah, let the church run, preacher.” Enjoying the feedback he was getting from his congregation, the preacher continued, “This church should not only run, but also fly.” Someone from the choir shouted, “Let the church fly; and I believe we can fly.” The preacher then used that opportunity to powerfully drop his message: “If our church is really going to fly, it is going to need money to do so.” Then, there was a cemetery silence. There was no feedback for a while until a young man who sat in front pew declared, “Let the church walk instead, preacher, let her walk.”

Beloved in Christ, this story perfectly explains the attitude of some of us in matters of giving. It describes and summarizes the response of some of us when it comes to giving our time, talent and treasure to others and to the church. In the church, we expect everything to run smoothly but wouldn’t lift a finger to help. We want light and air in the church but may not be so interested in giving more money to pay the bills. We want the church, its environs and the Rest Rooms to be clean and not littered but expect someone else to keep them clean. We want good singing in the church, but would not join the choir. We want the readings be read well at Mass and the Holy Communion distributed but wouldn’t care to join any of those ministries. We all want a well run church but want others to do the job. We prefer to be uninvolved, bench-warming Catholics who are often seen at Mass but never seen elsewhere contributing in the smooth operation of the church. When someone approaches you to consider becoming a member of a ministry of the church, you rule yourself out without the excuse: “I can’t do it.” “I am not worthy.” “I don’t have any talent.” “I don’t have the time.” My message to all of us today is this: each of us has a horse that the Lord can use. 

In the Gospel that we read outside before the procession (Mark 11:1-10), Jesus sent two of his disciples into the village to bring him a tied up young colt that no one has ever sat upon: “Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” The disciples did as Jesus said. It would have been a different story or no story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem if the unnamed owners of the tethered colt had refused to give it up. No matter how unknown or unrecognized you are, you can still play a significant role in the unfolding of God’s plan. Jesus needs something from each one of us just as he needed the unnamed owners of the tethered colt in the Gospel reading. We are not told who the owners are, but the fact that they did not ask, “But who is this Lord who needs our colt?” shows that they may be his secret disciples or admirers. The issue here is this: They generously allowed the colt to be used by the Lord. 

A young colt that no one has ever sat upon was a very big thing in those days. It was worth a lot of money. It was a brand new colt, which means its market value would be very high. It was the equivalent of a new car, a truck, and a tractor all in one. It was a car because it was a means of transportation, of moving around. It was a truck because it was used to carry heavy loads. It was also a tractor because it was used to cultivate the land. So, giving up their brand new colt that was worth a lot of money was a big sacrifice that the owners had to make. 

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, which recalls once again, our Lord’s triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, we are called upon to give up our own colt for the sake of furthering God’s Kingdom. Our colt may be our time. Spend more of your time for others. When the church needs help, show up. Our colt may be our talent. Each of us is created with some talents. God has given us some talents. Those talents can only be called gifts when they are used in the service of the church and society. Our choir needs more people to join them. We need more people to become lectors and Extra-ordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Our colt may be our treasure. Our church has bills to pay. As you already know, if there is no money, there may not be any ministry here. I urge every parishioner to give $1 more of what you usually give every weekend. Do not forget to pay your tithes too. Paying tithes is biblical. Tithe is one tenth or 10% of your annual produce or earnings. This is one Biblical text pertaining to paying tithes: Leviticus 27:30 says, “One tenth of all the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord.” Each of us has something in our lives that if given back to God could, like the tethered colt, move Jesus and his Gospel further down the road. Do as the owners of the colt did. Don’t hold back. Don’t be selfish. Don’t count yourself out. Sign yourself in. Whatever we have really belongs to God. Your time, talent and treasure are His. We are only stewards of all we have. Jesus is in need of your colt. Don’t refuse him!