During this most holy of weeks –
Holy Week – may the time you spend reflecting on the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus bring you a greater awareness of GOD’s love for you!
Today we begin Holy Week, the most
solemn week in the Church calendar. We reflect upon the events that brought
about our salvation. Jesus triumphantly enters into Jerusalem, the City of
Peace, in order to announce the Good News, not just with His words but by His
act of loving sacrifice for all people. We journey along with Him as He
celebrates the great feast of Passover and becomes the New Paschal Lamb Whose
blood is poured out so that we, the New Israel, might experience the liberation
from sin and the new life of grace. We look on as Jesus suffers His passion and
crucifixion. Ultimately, we will experience His glorification from the
cross and at the tomb.
In our readings today, we are taken
through the events of the next eight days. It begins with Jesus’ triumphant
entry into Jerusalem. The glory at the end of the eight days is alluded in
Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
The readings are quite powerful in
what they say about Who Jesus is and why He came to earth. It reminds us of His
mission and His dedication to announcing the Good News of GOD’s love for us.
The first Gospel (Luke 19: 28-40)
is the description of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus prepares to
enter The City – Jerusalem (“the place of peace”), the place where GOD has
chosen to dwell and make the divine presence known. It is this City that
welcomes Jesus. The people in the crowd cry out with joy and praise as Jesus
enters. They praise Jesus as the King Who comes in the name of the LORD. The
people are ecstatic that Jesus is coming to The City for the feast of Passover.
They had yearned for His arrival but were afraid that He would not come
because of the tension between Jesus and some of the religious leaders. They
put their cloaks on the pathway just as today we roll out the red carpet for
stars. They shout of joyful praises to GOD as they welcome Jesus into
The City – the very place where He will experience His Hour of Glory in His
death and resurrection.
First
Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7: I did not cover my face against insult: I know I shall
not be shamed
Commentary:
The four Songs of the Servant of the Lord occur in the second part
of the Book of Isaiah, pronounced by the prophet in the last days of the
Babylonian Exile, a time which was vital for the consolidation and re-formation
of Israel. They seem to hang together and form a body somewhat, but not
entirely, separate from the rest of the prophecy.
The third Song sings of the
suffering accepted by the Servant for the LORD, humiliation, insult, and
spitting.
Who, then, is this Servant? In its
primary meaning, it has been understood as the prophet himself, reflecting on
his own experiences as God’s messenger to Israel, though the difficulty here is
that, as well as having a mission to Israel, he is identified as part of
Israel. Is that identification in the second Song a later addition? The
sufferings described in other Songs must be personal. Perhaps it is the prophet
precisely as identified with Israel. Should a further extension of the meaning
be understood as the long-term suffering of the People of God in witnessing to
the values of Judaism? Certainly, Christianity sees the prophecies to be
fulfilled in the mission and sufferings of Jesus.
Responsorial
Psalm 22:8-9,17-20,23-24: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 22 begins with words that we
use as our refrain: “My GOD, My GOD, why have You abandoned me.” Jesus will
quote these words as He dies on the cross. The psalm continues as it describes
the suffering of an individual: the ridicule by people who belittle the
relationship that the “Suffering One” has with GOD; the piercing of the hands
and feet, the casting of lots for the garments of the one being persecuted. The
psalm ends with trust being ultimately placed in GOD. It speaks about the glory
of the LORD being proclaimed by the One Who has suffered.
Second Reading:
Philippians 2:6-11: Christ humbled himself, but God raised him high
Commentary:
This hymn was probably not written by Paul himself, but taken up by
him into the letter, a very early Christian hymn. It celebrates the triumph of
Jesus through his selflessness. The assertions at the end are staggering. The
hymn claims for Jesus the titles and the worship that are due only to God.
What is more, this acknowledgement of Jesus does not detract from the glory of
God, but is precisely ‘to the glory of God the Father’. This is perhaps the
fullest statement in Paul of the divine glory of Jesus, and it is won by his
humiliation in death.
Luke
22:14-23:56: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Commentary:
In Luke’s version of the story of the Passion of Jesus, many of the
details are different from those of the other evangelists. This merely means
that Luke stresses different aspects, for the narratives are as much
commentaries on the significance of events as straight narratives.
1. At the Last Supper, Luke gathers
together sayings of Jesus on the future of the Church and how the leaders of
the community should behave: they should serve their brothers and sisters, not
like the arrogant leaders of secular regimes. Luke places here the promise to
Peter that he will strengthen his brothers.
2. Luke stresses that Jesus is in
control of the whole sequence. At the Agony in the Garden, instead of the three
distraught prayers of Jesus, there is only one, and Jesus is in perfect
control, kneeling down and standing up again, rather than throwing himself upon
the ground. At the end, instead of ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’,
Jesus himself tranquilly yields his life into the Father’s hands, obediently
completing his Father’s will.
3. At the trial scene, there is no
sign of the High Priest, nor of any verdict. It is more a disorderly rabble who
hustled Jesus to Pilate and produced trumped-up charges. Pilate does not
sentence Jesus, but merely hands him over to them ‘to deal with as they
pleased’. Jesus, on the other hand, continues his mission of bringing peace by
the reconciliation of Pilate with Herod.
4. The crucifixion scene itself is
a scene of conversions: Jesus continues right to the end his mission of
bringing reconciliation. The women of Jerusalem mourn for Jesus. Jesus forgives
his executioners. He welcomes the good thief into paradise. The centurion gives
praise to God, and the crowds go home expressing their repentance. By contrast,
it is the holy women who fulfil the Law of repose on the Sabbath.
Reflection: Does the King of Glory find a welcome entry in your
home and heart? Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing full well what awaited him -
betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion. The people of Jerusalem, however, were
ready to hail him as their Messianic King! Little did they know what it would
cost this king to usher in his kingdom. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem astride a
colt was a direct fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah (9:9):
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he, and riding on an donkey and upon a colt the
foal of a donkey. Those who believe, hope, and love receive Christ's kingdom of
peace and eternal life
The colt was a sign of peace.
Jesus enters Jerusalem in meekness and humility, as the Messianic King who
offers victory and peace to his people. That victory and peace would be secured
in the cross and resurrection which would soon take place at the time of
Passover.
Augustine, the great 5th century
church father, comments on the significance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem:
"The master of humility is
Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to death, even the death of
the cross. Thus, he does not lose his divinity when he teaches us humility...
What great thing was it to the king of the ages to become the king of humanity?
For Christ was not the king of Israel so that he might exact a tax or equip an
army with weaponry and visibly vanquish an enemy. He was the king of Israel in
that he rules minds, in that he gives counsel for eternity, and in that he leads
into the kingdom of heaven for those who believe, hope, and love. It is a
condescension, not an advancement for one who is the Son of God, equal to the
Father, the Word through whom all things were made, to become king of Israel.
It is an indication of pity, not an increase in power." (Tractates on John
51.3-4)
Psalm 24 is another prophetic
passage that echoes this triumphal procession of the King of glory:
Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
Jesus Christ came to bring us the kingdom of God. He is the true King who offers peace, joy, and everlasting life for those who accept his kingship. Does the King of Glory find a welcome entry in your heart and home? Do your walls echo with the praise of his glory?
Lord Jesus, be the King and Ruler
of my heart, mind, life, and home. May my life reflect your meekness and
humility that you may be honored as the King of glory!
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The
following of Christ, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Come, follow Me, says the
Lord. Do you love? He has hastened on, He has flown on ahead. Look and see
where. O Christian, don't you know where your Lord has gone? I ask you: Don't
you wish to follow Him there? Through trials, insults, the cross, and death.
Why do you hesitate? Look, the way has been shown you." (excerpt from
Sermon 64,5)
Living
stones: “I tell you the very stones would cry out.” —Luke 19:40
The hard stones on the path to
Jerusalem were ready to praise Jesus as King of Glory (Lk 19:40). Even the hard
stones of the tomb embraced, sheltered, and protected the dead body of Jesus.
Sadly, those who opposed Jesus had hearts as hard as stone-cold tombs. Jesus
desired so much to transform hardened human hearts that He became a man to
reveal the Father’s love and die so that we might have the chance for
eternal life.
Will we have stony hearts? (Ez
36:26) Will we be stony ground (see Mk 4:5) and cry out, “Crucify Jesus” (see Lk 23:21)? Or will we be
“living stones” to build the Church, the Kingdom of God? (1 Pt 2:5) The Church
is built on St. Peter, the Rock (Mt 16:18). If today you hear His voice, harden
not your hearts as hard as stones (Ps 95:8).
To soften our stony hearts, Jesus
allowed His body to be pierced. He eagerly desired to share the Passover, the
Mass, with us (Lk 22:15). He loves us unto death (Jn 13:1ff). God can raise up
children of Abraham from the stones (Lk 3:8). Let’s not allow the stones to
out-praise us. Let the Lord change you from rock-hard to a living stone. Cry
out in praise, Hosanna!
Prayer: Father, soften
my stony heart to be like clay in Your hands of love (Jer 18:6). “The Lord God
is My help, therefore I am not disgraced.” —Is 50:7. “Blessed is He Who comes as King in the name
of the Lord!” (Lk 19:38)
The
personal action for today: When I
think of the events of Holy Week, what thoughts come to mind? How can I make
this week the holiest week of the year? How can I share the Good News of the
paschal mysteries to those with whom I come in contact?
*Palm
Sunday of the Lord’s Passion: Sunday
Before Easter. Every year on the Sunday before Easter – the sixth Sunday of
Lent – the church celebrates “Palm Sunday.” Most general calendars list the day
as “Palm Sunday,” but if you look closely at a liturgical calendar, you will see
that it is actually called “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.” The name is
appropriate as it celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem but also
commemorates the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final journey to the cross.
A Short Liturgical History
The last two weeks of Lent have undergone many changes in names as well as what
gospel(s) is proclaimed on the two Sundays. Older Catholics might remember
“Passiontide” when the fifth Sunday of Lent was known as “Passion Sunday” and
the gospel was the reading of the Passion followed by Palm Sunday with a gospel
telling of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. To our sense, it seems a bit backward
seems to be cutting Lent short. In the 1950s, there were some name changes, but
it was not until 1970 that we arrived at the current configuration: “Palm
Sunday of the Passion of the Lord”.
What is the basic story of the
entry into Jerusalem? All the account, with differing details, point to
Jesus entering the city riding upon animal (donkey, ass, colt), the people
waving or spreading plants/palms on the way, as some shouts of praise or honor.
Here is one of the gospel accounts:
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them
and bring them here to me. 3 And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,
‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” 4 This happened
so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: 5 “Say to
daughter Zion, ‘Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matt 21:2-5)
Why is Jesus entering the city
on a donkey? Actually, Luke and Mark describe the animal as a colt upon
which no one has ever ridden. John simply describes the animal as an “ass.”
Matthew is more complicated: on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of
burden. But all the gospels point to Zechariah 9:9-10 when narrating the story
of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem. In Zechariah a Messiah-king is described as
entering the city riding on an “ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.” This
messiah-king is the one who will liberate and bring peace to Israel. Zechariah
describes the proper response of the people as “Rejoice heartedly… shout for
joy.” The people are hailing Jesus as the one prophesized by Zechariah – even
if they don’t have a full understanding of all that is implied or that awaits
Jesus.
Why are the people waving palm
branches? It is at least a little ironic to refer to this as “Palm Sunday.”
Actually, only John (12:13) mentions “palm branches.” Matthew mentions “branches
from the trees” while Mark describes them as “leafy branches.” Luke mentions
nothing about any foliage.
Be that as it may, why “palms?”
It was a common custom in many lands in the ancient Near East to cover the path
of someone thought worthy of the highest honor. The Hebrew Bible reports that
Joshua was treated this way. The gospels of Mark, Matthew, and John report that
people gave Jesus this form of honor. In Matthew/Mark, they are reported as
laying their garments and cut branches on the street, whereas John more
specifically mentions palm fronds.
The palm branch was a symbol of
triumph and of victory in Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of
both the Jewish and Christian scriptures as such (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and
Revelation 7:9). Because of this, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by
waving palms and carpeting his path with them has given the Christian festival
its name.
Why is the “Passion of the
Lord” part of the celebration? There are two gospels read on that day. At the beginning of Mass, there is a reading
of the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.
During the normal spot in Mass, the Passion is read. In a way, it captures the speed at which
things changed in the few days between the entry and the subsequent arrest,
passion, and death by crucifixion.
On a practical level, if one is
not able to “follow” the whole story by attending the celebrations on Holy
Thursday and Good Friday, then the dual readings ensure you hear the “whole
story” before the reading of the Resurrection accounts on Easter Sunday.