Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Listening the Spirit
Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Word so that all your people may know and love You more and understand You better.
As I go about my day may I not forget the scriptures you have opened up for me.
Help me to recognize how You want for me to apply Your Word to my daily life. Holy Spirit, guided by Your Word, may You enlighten my mind and enkindle in my heart a greater love for You and for others in my family and in the world.
Amen.
Listening the Word: Matthew 27:11-54
Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius Pilate, who questioned him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
Jesus said, "You say so."
And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,
he made no answer.
Then Pilate said to him,
"Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?"
But he did not answer him one word,
so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now on the occasion of the feast
the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd
one prisoner whom they wished.
And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
"Which one do you want me to release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?"
For he knew that it was out of envy
that they had handed him over.
While he was still seated on the bench,
his wife sent him a message,
"Have nothing to do with that righteous man.
I suffered much in a dream today because of him."
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.
The governor said to them in reply,
"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"
They answered, "Barabbas!"
Pilate said to them,
"Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?"
They all said,
"Let him be crucified!"
But he said,
"Why? What evil has he done?"
They only shouted the louder,
"Let him be crucified!"
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,
but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood.
Look to it yourselves."
And the whole people said in reply,
"His blood be upon us and upon our children."
Then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium
and gathered the whole cohort around him.
They stripped off his clothes
and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,
and a reed in his right hand.
And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
They spat upon him and took the reed
and kept striking him on the head.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him off to crucify him.
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;
this man they pressed into service
to carry his cross.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha
— which means Place of the Skull —,
they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.
But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,
"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself, if you are the Son of God,
and come down from the cross!"
Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself.
So he is the king of Israel!
Let him come down from the cross now,
and we will believe in him.
He trusted in God;
let him deliver him now if he wants him.
For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
The revolutionaries who were crucified with him
also kept abusing him in the same way.
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
"This one is calling for Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;
he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,
gave it to him to drink.
But the rest said,
'Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,
they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
and all that was happening, and they said,
"Truly, this was the Son of God!"
Reflection
From Humiliation to Exaltation
On this PalmSunday mass that marks the beginning of the Holy Week, we commemorate two important events. First, theLord’s messianic and glorious Entrance into Jerusalem; and the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. We contemplate His glorious entry and the mystery of His humiliation, journeying toward his Resurrection.
The Son of God left his glory embrace human weakness
The movement of Humiliation-exaltationis the key to understand today’s readings. In the first reading, from the prophecy of Isaiah, we find themysterious figure of the Suffering Servant, from the third “Song of the Servant”(Isaiah 50, 4-7). The dramatic description of this man who suffers patiently strongly evokes Jeremiah: a prophet formed and tested by the Word, sent to comfort the people (Jeremiah 30-31), and who was subject to physical persecution (Jeremiah 38). Thrown into prison or at the bottom of a cistern, he placed his hope only in the Lord. But beyond Jeremiah, this mysterious ‘‘Suffering Servant’’ constitutes a prophetic figure that perfectly applies to the humiliation and obedience of Jesus.
During his Passion, he displays the same attitude: ‘‘I did not rebel, I did not turn away. I did not hide my face from insults and spitting’’ (Isaiah 50:6). To perceive the inner feelings of Christ, In Is 50 : 7 we can read : ‘‘The Lord God comes to my help’’. We remember what Saint Theresa of Avila says :the one who has God has all or everything.
The second reading, from the Letter to the Philippians chapter 2, that we use for the evening prayer every Saturdays reveals the greatness of Jesus’ love. Hebecame sin for us sinners, just to show us how much the Father loves you and I.
Let us notice the contrast we can see through the attitude of the crowd in today’s Gospel. Actually, those who were enthusiastic to welcome Jesus in Jerusalem with their branches of palm are now those who claim his death.
However, as pope Benedict XVI explains, Jesus interprets his mission on earth by superimposing onto the figure of the Son of Man that of the suffering Servant, described by Isaiah (cf. Is 53:1-12). He receives power and glory only as a ‘‘Servant’’; but he is a servant to the extent that he takes upon himself the destiny of suffering and sin of all humanity. This is why the free acceptance of his violent death becomes the price of liberation for the multitude, becoming the beginning and the foundation of the redemption of each man and of the entire human race.
Furthermore, the attitude of Peter and Judasduring Jesus’ Passion. Theirbehavior warns us of the dangers that await, in particular, priests who are not persevering in the spiritual life. Let us copythe holy women who, on the contrary, accompanied Jesus to the tomb. They offer us a beautiful example of faithful and attentive souls, who live the “logic of love.”
Jesus who plunges into anguish at Gethsemane (v.36-46), does not lose control of the situation. We can read“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps 22:2 = Mt 27:46). We may have a wrong interpretation of that sentence.
This final prayer of Jesus shows that he shares our human condition up to that feeling of total abandonment that a person can experience in trial and before death. This prayer does not deny hope, but rather manifests it. Indeed, Psalm 22, after describing suffering and the plea, makes a spectacular turn and opens up to thanksgiving: “I proclaim your name before my brethren, I praise you in the assembly” (v.23). This allows us to see in it a prophecy of the Resurrection, the Father’s definitive response to the Son’s sufferings.
Jesus is ‘‘abandoned by all’’ and allows himself to be judged by Caiaphas, then by Pilate. During the two trials, he is silent to show that the truth is not noisy. His attitude manifests his innocence. He is the Lamb of God who faced betrayal, mockery and humiliation through his Passion.
Dear beloved children of God, as we enter the Holy Week, we contemplate in a single gaze the entire mystery of Christ thanks to the liturgical hymn of the first Christian community, that we heard in the second reading (Phil 2:6-11).
This hymn first describes the descent movement of Jesus: the Incarnation, where Jesus ‘moves’ from the ‘divine condition to the condition of a servant,’ a slavefollowed by the Passion: ‘to die on a cross.’ This descent manifests Jesus’extreme obedience.
Then comes an ascending movement: God has exalted Him through the Resurrection and Ascension. That is why he is now the center of worship of all creatures. All are united by the same liturgical proclamation: ‘Jesus Christ is Lord in the Glory of God the Father!’.
Today, Christ enters Jerusalem, the Holy City, where he is going to die and rise again. Let us put all our faith into recalling now the memory of this triumphal Entrance of our Savior; let us follow him with the sincerity of our hearts in his Passion to the cross to share in his Resurrection and life.
Reflection Questions
1.- As we contemplate Jesus’ journey from humiliation to exaltation, in what ways am I invited to embrace sacrifice and trust in God’s plan in my own moments of suffering?
2.-Seeing the contrast between the crowd, Peter, Judas, and the faithful women, which attitude do I recognize in myself—and how can I grow in a more faithful and persevering love for Christ during this Holy Week?
