Not Alone; Not Abandoned

HOMILY: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Matthew 27:11-54

2 April 2023

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

Do you like the feeling of being alone? It’s true that some prefer to be alone. They are at peace — alone but not lonely. But loneliness is far different from being alone. It can be felt even when you are surrounded by so many people.  Loneliness can be a terrible thing. The feeling of having no one to talk to, no one to understand us, no support in times of trouble, no one to share our joys is sad and painful.

In counselling sessions, a very common issue is the feeling of abandonment. There are children who feel abandoned by parents who have other priorities and are always too busy for them. But there are more and more elderly people who feel that their children have already forgotten them. Some are the “empty nesters” whose children have moved on to make their own lives. Others, even when living with their family, feel that they are just a burden and are simply useless.

Whether we admit it or not, we all yearn to be wanted, acknowledged and accepted.   We fear rejection and abandonment because we are by nature, relational beings. Don’t we say, “no man is an island” and we sing, “no one lives for oneself…”? We all struggle with the feeling of not measuring up or not being accepted and loved for who we are.  

Today is Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week. Listening and meditating on today’s account of Jesus’ Passion according to Matthew, we are made to imagine the sense of abandonment Jesus experienced on the cross. Abandoned by friends, betrayed by one and denied by another, mocked by soldiers, taunted and jeered at by the bystanders, Jesus could not have felt more alone at His darkest hour. To highlight this utter abandonment, Matthew’s account does not make mention of the presence of Mary and the Beloved Disciple standing at the foot of the cross. At least in the other Passion narratives, both are described as having accompanied Jesus up unto His crucifixion. Mary Magdalene and the other women are also mentioned but they were supposedly looking on from a distance. 

Jesus cries out in agony and desperation from the cross: “My God, my God why have you abandoned me.” (Psalm 22:1) One Scripture scholar notes that this is the only time in the gospel accounts that Jesus prays to His Father using the formal and distant name — “God” — as compared to other gospel accounts where He consistently calls God, “Abba” (Father). Jesus knew how it felt to be in pain, to cry out for God, and to feel alone. At a very crucial moment of His life, Jesus has a very human response. This is important for us because we can be sure that Christ fully understands what we are going through. There is no pain hidden in his knowledge and experience. Our God is not oblivious to our suffering. Victims of war and natural disasters who struggle to survive in a world that is indifferent to their plight, children of broken families who end up thinking they are to blame, the desolation of those who die alone — these are some of the many faces of Jesus today who cry out to God (and us) for mercy, relief and compassion. 

However, Jesus does not dwell on this painful human experience. His confidence in His Father wins out in the end. We are told that Jesus cries out AGAIN and this time hands over His spirit to the Father. Jesus dies in anguish but still trusts in God’s vindication. Just like the Psalmist’s prayer of lament that ends with a statement of trust in God: “For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.” (Psalm 22:24) Jesus hands over Himself in obedience. He remains faithful to the end — seeking to fulfil God’s will to the very end of His life. Jesus does not lose confidence in His Father. He abandons Himself to the loving arms of the Father because He knows, in the Father’s mercy, everything turns out for the good. This should encourage us to persevere and to have hope. Desperation, loneliness, and abandonment should never be the end of our story. God never abandons His people. He knows each one of us intimately and loves us unconditionally. In Isaiah 49:15-16, God says: “…even if a mother forgets her child, I will never forget you. I have engraved you in the palm of my hand.” 

The call for us this Holy Week and throughout all our lives — is to recognise that Jesus, in His love for us, is one with us, even in our suffering and feelings of abandonment and He shows us by example what it means to have complete confidence in the Father. Let us ask the Lord to deepen our faith so that we can surrender to God all that is troubling our hearts and minds. May we never lose sight of His unwavering promise of new life. “Father, we place ourselves into your hands in our desire to become sharers of your divine life!”