Gospel-Homily for Palm Sunday (2024)

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“Why Does God Hate Me”: Maybe to Set Us Up for Something Great.

I was in my sixth-grade gym class. It was floor hockey, boys against the girls. “This should be fun,” I thought. Then, the teacher pulled me aside to ask if I would play on the girls’ side to balance the teams. I reluctantly responded, “Ya, I guess.” Sure enough, there I was, standing on the side with the girls, and my classmates commented on how I was a “nice girl.” I thought, “Oh no. What good can come from this?  Why me? Why didn’t my teacher pick another guy? Why does my teacher hate me?” I should mention that one other guy played on the girl’s team: my teacher, a semi-pro goalie in college. It was overtime, and still no score. I told one of the girls to stand by the net. I got the puck and weaved my way past the boys toward the net. I passed the puck to the girl who was standing in front of the net. So she closed her eyes and took a swipe at the puck.  Naturally, she completely missed the puck. It bounced off of her foot and came back to me.  So I flipped the puck into the net, and we won the game. The teacher was elated; all the girls loved me, and they each gave me a hug. Best of all, I crushed my foes and silenced the mockers. As I was basking in the glory—which does not happen too often in my life—I realized that my teacher set me up to be the hero. He knew that sixth-grade boys were not going to get the puck past a semi-pro. He knew that I was the one capable of scoring a goal.

            They mocked and ridiculed Jesus on the cross, and Jesus cried out, “My God, why have you abandoned me?” “What good can come from this, why do you hate me?” But the Father was setting Jesus up for something great.

            There are times when we may feel that God has let us down. Why is God doing this? Why does He hate me? But maybe, just maybe, God is setting you up for something great. He has done it before.