Walking with Jesus: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Isaiah  50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47

Today we hear two Gospel readings. The first precedes the Blessing of the Palms and makes note of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem where, in a few short days, He will be crucified. The second reading is the passion narrative according to Mark. This is the oldest passion account in existence. Scripture scholars maintain that this version is very close to the original event. Isaiah’s account of the last of four “Suffering Servant” prophecies [Isaiah 52:13-53:12] is a wonderful reading to help understand the depth and beauty of this passage. The early church identified the suffering servant to be a type of the suffering Jesus. Jesus died to show us God’s total, unconditional love. He died for every person’s salvation.

Many of Jesus’ contemporaries expected the Messiah to be a military conquerer who would free Israel from Roman domination. But Jesus did not come into Jerusalem riding a horse, the preferred mount of kings during war; he came on a donkey, the traditional mount for kings who come in peace. At the birth of Jesus, angels pointed out that the Kingdom of God was one of “peace on earth to people who are God’s friends” … and Jesus pointed out “all are His friends who believe in Him and follow His commands.” Luke 17:20-21 reads: “Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, [Jesus] said in reply, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is,’ for behold, the kingdom of God is among you [also translated as within you.].’” Jesus’ total life exhibited His unconditional love. We needed that. As a result of original sin we often feel we've inherited the sin of Adam and Eve. A better way is to see that each of us chooses sins and patterns of sin in our lives: sin that is hurtful, selfish, prideful, arrogant, unforgiving, holding grudges. In our search for elusive happiness, the counteraction for our “original sin” is for us to give unconditional love to all we see, hear and read about; all who are hurting and in need. That is what true happiness is all about: living unconditional love. Fr. Richard Rohr shares a great reflection on sin in On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men: “If I view sin as woundedness, how will that change the way I deal with it?” Jesus’ death explained this in His unconditional love lesson.

Isaiah’s reading is the third of four passages on the “Suffering Servant.” This servant could represent Israel as it returned from years of exile in Babylon. The Israelites were “wiser” now ... they had abandoned their selfishness and refusal to follow God’s way given in the Ten Commandments. This “servant” is now grateful to be able to speak and live God’s way. The “servant” emphasizes the hope and promise of a new life. The “servant” is also ready to stand up to any resistance to God’s ways because God is always with him, helping him to be His people. How often do I fall by the wayside, following the “crowd” instead of listening to God within me, leading me to His love and living that love?

Paul continues this theme by encouraging the Philippians to imitate the humility of Jesus who accepted every type of suffering and death for us. Paul encourages them to focus on the examples and unconditional love Jesus lived while He was on Earth. We think God didn’t have to suffer and die, but He did it out of willing obedience to God’s plan, His unconditional love. Am I working on being a person of unconditional love? Or am I responding only to favorites and those I like? Why would Jesus give this example if was not for me to imitate?

Christian author and commentator Alice Camille gives a moving summary of the Gospel, titling it “Jesus cried out in a long voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’”

Though we may pronounce it wrong, we can all speak that one passage in Aramaic. The saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is the most poignant cry Jesus utters in the gospel. Across the Passion accounts, seven sayings have been collected from the cruel hours at Golgotha. This one alone is repeated twice, appearing in Mark's and Matthew’s narratives.

And it makes us shudder, because we’ve all been there. In an hour of great anguish, who hasn’t wondered: Why is God doing this? Why would God let this happen to me, to my loved one, to my country, to the planet? Abandonment is the most desperate hour of human experience. To suffer is overwhelming; to suffer alone when love itself seems to have departed us is intolerable. That Jesus speaks these words reminds us that He’s fully taken on our human condition — including our need to know that someone sees our struggle and cares. To ask this question is to not lose faith: It’s to trust that God does hear, that God does care and is near enough to encircle the enormity of our pain.

So I reflect on:

• In this last week of Lent, read again the Gospel chapters of the Passion: Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19.
• What do you think was in Jesus’ heart and mind during these days?
• What strikes you most in these accounts? What did you notice you haven’t noticed before?
  

Sacred Space 2021 states:

“As I read the seminal verses, I pray to have the faith of Peter, who was the rock on whom the early Christians leaned. I look at Jesus and seek words to express what He means to me, and open my heart to God’s revelation. ...

“Part of our prayer is missing Jesus when He seems so absent and prayerful feelings seem so distant. The scent of the Lord in our lives keeps us going.”