Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Intentions: That all people will turn away from sin, living instead with compassion and justice, and embracing God’s gifts of faith, hope, and love.
Today’s Gospel | 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.
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!”
A Lenten Reflection
The first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, once said, “In order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.” What this seems to suggest is that reality is defined not only by its facts but also by its possibilities. If this is so, then to experience life fully is to discover the connections between the known and the unknown, the certain and the uncertain, the now and the not yet. This is a good thought to hold during Holy Week, as we walk through both the harrowing reality and the triumphant miracle of the final earthly days of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel brings us to the center of Christian faith, as we see God’s plan for our salvation come to its fullness through the redemptive work of Jesus in his passion, death, and resurrection. This is the Paschal Mystery and, while its story unfolds in separate events, they are not meant to be considered as separate. They must be taken as a whole, for in creation God’s time, people, and grace are alpha and omega, born of oneness and converging into oneness. What is good and right ultimately comes to us through all of our experiences, sometimes as peace and sometimes as disturbance. We learn that to be a person of faith is to have eyes that can focus on both fact and promise in a way that sees them together, not as wishful thinking but as ultimate truth.
During this Holy Week, we are invited to enter into the greatest chapter of the story of God’s saving love for us. As we do, we must know that we are living a journey that will know both darkness and light, but that darkness will never have the final word. As we sing in the Memorial Acclamation of the Mass, “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life.” This is the mystery of our faith, reality and miracle, in which the many pieces of our lives are made one.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your Son came to us to help us overcome the brokenness of our world and restore us to wholeness. During this Holy Week, open us to see and embrace the fullness of life, so that we will know in all of our experiences the grace of your presence and the purposes of your will. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.