14th April >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 22:14-23:56 for Palm Sunday, Cycle C: ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’.
Palm Sunday, Cycle C
Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)
Luke 22:14-23:56
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. When the hour came, Jesus took his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them,
✠ I have longed to eat this passover with you before I suffer; because, I tell you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
N. Then, taking a cup, he gave thanks and said,
✠ Take this and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the kingdom of God comes.
N. Then he took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying,
✠ This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me.
N. He did the same with the cup after supper, and said,
✠ This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.
And yet, here with me on the table is the hand of the man who betrays me. The Son of Man does indeed go to his fate even as it has been decreed, but alas for that man by whom he is betrayed!
N. And they began to ask one another which of them it could be who was to do this thing.
A dispute arose also between them about which should be reckoned the greatest, but he said to them,
✠ Among pagans it is the kings who lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are given the title Benefactor. This must not happen with you. No; the greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who serves. For who is the greater: the one at table or the one who serves? The one at table, surely? Yet here am I among you as one who serves!
You are the men who have stood by me faithfully in my trials; and now I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father conferred one on me: you will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
Simon, Simon! Satan, you must know, has got his wish to sift you all like wheat; but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in your turn must strengthen your brothers.
N. He answered,
O. Lord, I would be ready to go to prison with you, and to death.
N. Jesus replied,
✠ I tell you, Peter, by the time the cock crows today you will have denied three times that you know me.
N. He said to them,
✠ When I sent you out without purse or haversack or sandals, were you short of anything?
N. They answered,
C. No.
N. He said to them,
✠ But now if you have a purse, take it; if you have a haversack, do the same; if you have no sword, sell your cloak and buy one, because I tell you these words of scripture have to be fulfilled in me: He let himself be taken for a criminal. Yes, what scripture says about me is even now reaching its fulfilment.
N. They said,
C. Lord, there are two swords here now.
N. He said to them,
✠ That is enough!
N. He then left to make his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, with the disciples following. When they reached the place he said to them,
✠ Pray not to be put to the test.
N. Then he withdrew from them, about a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed, saying,
✠ Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.
N. Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength. In his anguish he prayed even more earnestly, and his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
When he rose from prayer he went to the disciples and found them sleeping for sheer grief. He said to them,
✠ Why are you asleep? Get up and pray not to be put to the test.
N. He was still speaking when a number of men appeared, and at the head of them the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, who went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said,
✠ Judas, are you betraying the son of Man with a kiss?
N. His followers, seeing what was happening, said,
C. Lord, shall we use our swords?
N. And one of them struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. But at this Jesus spoke:
✠ Leave off! That will do!
N. And touching the man’s ear he healed him.
Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guard and elders who had come for him. He said,
✠ Am I a brigand, that you had to set out with swords and clubs? When I was among you in the Temple day after day you never moved to lay hands on me. But this is your hour; this is the reign of darkness.
N. They seized him then and led him away, and they took him to the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance. They had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and Peter sat down among them, and as he was sitting there by the blaze a servant-girl saw him, peered at him, and said,
O. This person was with him too.
N. But he denied it.
O. Woman, I do not know him.
N. Shortly afterwards someone else saw him and said,
O. You are another of them.
N. But Peter replied,
O. I am not, my friend.
N. About an hour later another man insisted, saying,
O. This fellow was certainly with him. Why, he is a Galilean.
N. Peter said,
O. My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.
N. At that instant, while he was still speaking, the cock crew, and the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Meanwhile the men who guarded Jesus were mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
C. Play the prophet. Who hit you then?
N. And they continued heaping insults on him.
When day broke there was a meeting of the elders of the people, attended by the chief priests and scribes. He was brought before their council, and they said to him,
C. If you are the Christ, tell us.
N. He replied,
✠ If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Power of God.
N. Then they all said,
C. So you are the Son of God then?
N. He answered:
✠ It is you who say I am.
N. They said,
C. What need of witnesses have we now? We have heard it for ourselves from his own lips.
N. The whole assembly then rose, and they brought him before Pilate.
They began their accusation by saying,
C. We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of the tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ, a king.
N. Pilate put to him this question:
O. Are you the king of the Jews?
N. He replied,
✠ It is you who say it.
N. Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd,
O. I find no case against this man.
N. But they persisted,
C. He is inflaming the people with his teaching all over Judaea; it has come all the way from Galilee, where he started, down to here.
N. When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean; and finding that he came under Herod’s jurisdiction he passed him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was delighted to see Jesus; he had heard about him and had been wanting for a long time to set eyes on him; moreover, he was hoping to see some miracle worked by him. So he questioned him at some length; but without getting any reply. Meanwhile the chief priests and the scribes were there, violently pressing their accusations. Then Herod, together with his guards, treated him with contempt and made fun of him; he put a rich cloak on him and sent him back to Pilate. And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, they were reconciled that same day.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests and the leading men and the people. He said,
O. You brought this man before me as a political agitator. Now I have gone into the matter myself in your presence and found no case against the man in respect of all the charges you bring against him. Nor has Herod either, since he has sent him back to us. As you can see, the man has done nothing that deserves death, So I shall have him flogged and then let him go.
N. But as one man they howled,
C. Away with him! Give us Barabbas!
N. (This man had been thrown into prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.)
Pilate was anxious to set Jesus free and addressed them again, but they shouted back,
C. Crucify him! Crucify him!
N. And for the third time he spoke to them,
O. Why? What harm has this man done? I have found no case against him that deserves death, so I shall have him punished and then let him go.
N. But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices, demanding that he should be crucified. And their shouts were growing louder.
Pilate then gave his verdict: their demand was to be granted. He released the man they asked for, who had been imprisoned for rioting and murder, and handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they pleased.
As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. Large numbers of people followed him, and of women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said,
✠ Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For the days will surely come when people will say, ‘Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never suckled!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’; to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if men use the green wood like this, what will happen when it is dry?
N. Now with him they were also leading out two other criminals to be executed.
When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left. Jesus said,
✠ Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.
N. Then they cast lots to share out his clothing.
The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him, saying,
C. He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.
N. The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said,
C. If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.
N. Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals hanging there abused him, saying,
O. Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.
N. But the other spoke up and rebuked him:
O. Have you no fear of God at all? You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
N. He replied,
✠ Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.
N. It was now about the sixth hour and, with the sun eclipsed, a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. The veil of the Temple was torn right down the middle; and when Jesus had cried out in a loud voice, he said,
✠ Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
N. With these words he breathed his last.
All kneel and pause a moment
When the centurion saw what had taken place, he gave praise to God and said,
O. This was a great and good man.
N. And when all the people who had gathered for the spectacle saw what had happened, they went home beating their breasts.
All his friends stood at a distance; so also did the women who had accompanied him from Galilee, and they saw all this happen.
Then a member of the council arrived, an upright and virtuous man named Joseph. He had not consented to what the others had planned and carried out. He came from Arimathaea, a Jewish town, and he lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He then took it down, wrapped it in a shroud and put him in a tomb which was hewn in stone in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day and the sabbath was imminent.
Meanwhile the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus were following behind. They took note of the tomb and of the position of the body.
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath day they rested, as the Law required.
Gospel (USA)
Luke 22:14—23:56
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When the hour came, Jesus took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you that from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.
“And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me is with me on the table; for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” And they began to debate among themselves who among them would do such a deed.
Then an argument broke out among them about which of them should be regarded as the greatest. He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’; but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves. It is you who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
“Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.” He said to him, “Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you.” But he replied, “I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows this day, you will deny three times that you know me.”
He said to them, “When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack or sandals, were you in need of anything?” “No, nothing,” they replied. He said to them, “But now one who has a money bag should take it, and likewise a sack, and one who does not have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me, namely, He was counted among the wicked; and indeed what is written about me is coming to fulfillment.” Then they said, “Lord, look, there are two swords here.” But he replied, “It is enough!”
Then going out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.”
While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked, “Lord, shall we strike with a sword?” And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said in reply, “Stop, no more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him. And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards and elders who had come for him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.”
After arresting him they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest; Peter was following at a distance. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat down with them. When a maid saw him seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said, “This man too was with him.” But he denied it saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A short while later someone else saw him and said, “You too are one of them”; but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.” About an hour later, still another insisted, “Assuredly, this man too was with him, for he also is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly. The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they reviled him in saying many other things against him.
When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, “If you are the Christ, tell us,” but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question, you will not respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.”
Then the whole assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate. They brought charges against him, saying, “We found this man misleading our people; he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Christ, a king.” Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He said to him in reply, “You say so.” Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds, “I find this man not guilty.” But they were adamant and said, “He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to here.”
On hearing this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean; and upon learning that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time. Herod was very glad to see Jesus; he had been wanting to see him for a long time, for he had heard about him and had been hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at length, but he gave him no answer. The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile, stood by accusing him harshly. Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him, and after clothing him in resplendent garb, he sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate became friends that very day, even though they had been enemies formerly. Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people and said to them, “You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him, nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him. Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”
But all together they shouted out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.” —Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion that had taken place in the city and for murder.— Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus, but they continued their shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate addressed them a third time, “What evil has this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime. Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.” With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed. The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted. So he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.
As they led him away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?” Now two others, both criminals, were led away with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They divided his garments by casting lots. The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said, “This man was innocent beyond doubt.” When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts; but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events.
Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph, who, though he was a member of the council, had not consented to their plan of action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. After he had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried. It was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.
Reflections (5)
(i) Palm Sunday
We have just been listening to Luke’s account of Jesus’ final journey. Like any human being, Jesus recoiled at the prospect of crucifixion. It is only Luke who tells us that on the Mount of Olives, while praying intensely, his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Jesus did not choose to be crucified. He choose to be faithful even if that meant being crucified. He choose to be faithful to God’s love for all of humanity. Although we have just heard a very tragic story, we consider it good news, gospel, because it is a story that proclaims the triumph of a truly life giving love. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion and death, Jesus refers to himself as the ‘green wood’. The cross, which was an instrument of torture, came to be venerated as the tree of life, because it is the place where love triumphed over hatred and life over death.
Calvary was a very dark place, an expression of human brutality at its worst. Yet, in the light of the resurrection of Jesus, the early church came to recognize that what happened on Calvary was more than just a monument to human brutality. There was already a light shining in that darkness, the light of God’s unconditional love for all humanity, including those who crucified Jesus. The church came to see that God was present in that place which seemed to proclaim the absence of God, God’s abandonment of Jesus and of humanity. There was a recognition ever after that God could be present in a loving way in the darkest of human situations. When faced with the cross, we can either renounce our faith in God, or open our hearts to God present in our suffering, loving us with a love we will never fully comprehend in this life. Just as God was present to Jesus and to all of humanity on Calvary, God is present in every experience of the cross, suffering with those who suffer, loving them into a new and fuller life.
The story we have just heard reveals both the worst and the best of the human spirit. The worst of the human spirit, the brutality of the absolute power of the Roman Empire, is there for all to see. Yet, as is often the way, the worst instincts of some drew forth the best instincts of others. It is above all Jesus who reveals the best of the human spirit in this hour. He dies as he lived, standing in loving solidarity with sinners, praying for those responsible for his death, promising paradise to a condemned criminal who turned to him for support. Those best instincts of human nature in the story we have heard can inspire us. We all struggle to forgive those who have hurt or damaged us, but, like Jesus, we may find it in us to pray for them, asking God to forgive them. We can all be a Joseph of Arimathea to others, working to take the wounded body of Christ, our suffering sisters and brothers, off their crosses. In the story of Jesus’ passion and death, we not only hear the good news of the Lord’s tremendous love for us, but we also hear the call to become that good news for others.
And/Or
(ii) Palm Sunday
Some of us may have accompanied loved ones on their last journey, as they passed from this life to the next. The stages of the final journey of a loved one can remain etched in our memories. Their journey was, in a sense, our journey. We travelled it with them. Very often, it is only some time after the death of our loved that the true significance of that final journey becomes clear to us. We come to see it in a new light; we come to understand what was going on in a way that was not possible at the time.
The final journey of Jesus was etched in the memory of his disciples. They too came to understand the full significance of that final journey only afterwards, in the light of Easter and with the coming of the Spirit. What they initially regarded as a great tragedy came to be seen as good news. A story of brokenness and failure came to be recognized as a story full of promise and hope. That is how we read and listen to Luke’s story of Jesus’ last journey this Palm Sunday. We hear this story, not as a depressing word, but as a word that nourishes us and strengthens our faith and hope.
Luke emphasizes that Jesus died as he lived. He lived prayerfully and he died prayerfully, praying to God that Simon’s faith would not fail, praying for forgiveness for his executioners, praying that his Father’s will would be done in his life and, with his final breath, praying himself into the welcoming hands of his Father. Jesus lived compassionately and he died compassionately, healing the wounded ear of one of his enemies, granting Peter a look of acceptance at the very moment that Peter denied him, promising Paradise to the condemned man who turned to him in his hour of need. The experience of his passion and death did not change Jesus. He remained in death all he was in life, a person in prayerful communion with God and in compassionate communion with all men and women, including those who rejected him and failed him.
The Jesus who lived and died is also the Jesus who is risen. As risen Lord, he remains in prayerful communion with God, interceding for us, and he remains in compassionate communion with ourselves. He joins us on our own life’s journey, as he joined the two sorrowful disciples on the road to Emmaus. As the Lord journeys with us, he pours out his Spirit into our hearts, so that we can journey in the same prayerful and compassionate way that he journeyed. His Spirit enables us to be prayerful and compassionate people as he was, in good times and in bad, when the path of life is easy and effortless and when it is painful and difficult. The portrait of Jesus that Luke gives us in his passion story is also intended as our portrait. We are being invited to identify with Jesus, to follow him, to become, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the person he was and is.
As we listen to Luke’s passion story we might find it easier to identify with the other characters in the story. We might recognize something of ourselves in the disciples who, at the last Supper, argued as to which of them was the greatest, in the followers of Jesus who, at the moment of his arrest, resorted to physical force when a different response was called for, in Peter who lacked the courage of his convictions under pressure. We might even recognize something of ourselves in Judas who turned a sign of affection into a signal of betrayal. I suspect many of us could also recognize something of ourselves in those who responded well, in Simon who helped to carry Jesus’ burden, in the good thief who confessed his sin and turned to Jesus in trusting prayer, in the centurion who saw more deeply than any other Roman, in Joseph of Arimathea who did not go along with his peers in the Jewish council but stood apart. Wherever we locate ourselves in the story, the prayerful and compassionate Saviour opens his arms to receive us. That is why this story is good news for us all.
And/Or
(iii) Palm Sunday
We have just heard the story of the last hours of Jesus as Nazareth as told for us by St. Luke. It is this story that we will be reflecting upon in the coming week. The passion narrative is a preview of the whole of this week, the only week in the church’s year that is called Holy Week. The story we have just heard is in one sense a tragic story, the story of the cruel execution of an innocent man. Luke’s telling of the story goes out of its way to declare the innocence of Jesus. Pilate declares Jesus innocent no less than three times, ‘I have found no case against him’. One of those crucified with Jesus declares, ‘This man has done nothing wrong’. The centurion, seeing how Jesus died, proclaims, ‘This was a great and good man’. Jesus dies as the innocent victim of a grave injustice. Therein lies the tragedy of the story we have just heard.
There have been many innocent victims of grave injustices since then, even close to home and in recent times. There may have been times in our own lives when we felt that we were unjustly treated. Such experiences can leave us feeling angry and our anger can turn to bitterness and resentment. The unfair and unjust treatment that we believed we received leaves us diminished. One of the extraordinary features of the story we have just heard is that the injustice done to its main character, to Jesus, did not diminish him in that sense. He retained his goodness, his love for others right to the end, even as the unjust forces were doing their worst to him. It is Luke who again brings out this dimension of the story more than the other evangelists. Luke portrays Jesus as healing the ear of those who came to arrest him, turning to look compassionately at Peter at the moment Peter denied him for the third time, praying aloud to God for forgiveness for those who were executing him, and in his last communication with a fellow human being, promising paradise to one of the criminals who were being crucified with him. Here was the triumph in the midst of the tragedy, the triumph of goodness over evil, of love and mercy over sin and injustice. This triumph would become visible to all when God raised his Son from the dead on the third day.
Luke’s story of the last journey of Jesus reminds us that our greatest triumph lies in how we respond to others, regardless of how they have treated us. We sometimes have little control over how others treat us or regard us. We have some control over how we respond to others. If we respond in the way Jesus did, then we share in his triumph. When we retain our goodness, our integrity, in the midst of forces that threaten to diminish it, then the Lord’s triumph, the triumph of this Holy Week, takes flesh in our lives. The story of Jesus becomes our story. That is the call this Holy Week makes on us.
And/Or
(iv) Palm Sunday
We have just heard the story of the last hours of Jesus as Nazareth as told for us by St. Luke. It is this story that we will be reflecting upon in the coming week, the only week in the church’s year that is called Holy Week. The story we have just heard is in one sense a tragic story, the story of the cruel execution of an innocent man. Luke’s telling of the story goes out of its way to declare the innocence of Jesus. Pilate declares Jesus innocent no less than three times, ‘I have found no case against him’. One of those crucified with Jesus declares, ‘This man has done nothing wrong’. The centurion, seeing how Jesus died, proclaims, ‘This was a great and good man’. Jesus dies as the innocent victim of a grave injustice. Therein lies the tragedy of the story we have just heard.
There have been many innocent victims of grave injustices since then. There may have been times in our own lives when we felt that we were unjustly treated. Such experiences can leave us feeling angry and resentful. One of the extraordinary features of the story we have just heard is that the injustice done to Jesus did not fundamentally change him. He retained his goodness, his love for others, right to the end. He remained the person he had been all his life, even as he unjustly endured so much hostility and hatred. Luke portrays Jesus as healing the ear of one of those who came to arrest him, turning to look compassionately at Peter at the moment Peter denied him for the third time, praying aloud asking God to forgive those who were executing him, and in the final words he spoke to another human being, promising paradise to one of the criminals crucified alongsie him. Here was the triumph in the midst of the tragedy, the triumph of goodness over evil, of love and mercy over sin and injustice. I am reminded of Saint Paul’s words in his letter to the church in Rome. ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’.
Luke’s story of the last journey of Jesus reminds us that our greatest triumph lies in how we relate to others, regardless of how they relate to us. We sometimes have little control over how others treat us or regard us. We have some control over how we respond to the way others relate to us. If, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we respond in the way Jesus did, then we share in his triumph. When we retain our goodness, our integrity, in the face of forces that threaten to diminish us and violate our dignity, then the Lord’s triumph, the triumph of this Holy Week, takes flesh in our own lives. The story of Jesus becomes our story, and the love of God which Jesus revealed most fully in the hour of his passion and death is revealed in our lives.
And/Or
(v) Palm Sunday
According to Luke’s version of the passion and death of Jesus which we have just heard, three groups mocked Jesus as he hung from the cross. Each group called on him to save himself. The leaders jeered at him saying, ‘He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One’. The soldiers mocked him, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself’. One of the criminals hurled abuse at him, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well’. They all wanted Jesus to come down from the cross. Otherwise, he could not be taken seriously as the Christ of God, the king of the Jews.
The notion of a crucified king, a crucified Christ or Messiah, was a scandal. As Paul declares in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles’. If the notion of a crucified Messiah was a scandal and foolishness, a crucified God would have been even more scandalous. Yet, we believe that Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us, not only when he was preaching and performing miracles in Galilee but when he was hanging powerlessly and silently on the cross. We believe that Jesus was God in human form from the first moment of his earthly life to the last. When we look upon the cross we are looking at a crucified God. Here is a God who is not removed from human suffering but who, in Jesus, enters fully and deeply into our suffering, not just our physical suffering, but our emotional, mental and spiritual suffering. Jesus suffered in all those ways on the cross; God suffered in all those ways on Calvary. We believe in a God who is with us in our darkest moments. We believe in a God who suffers with us whenever we suffer, which is the true meaning of compassion. Whenever we find ourselves undergoing our own Golgotha, our own Calvary, we can be certain that God is with us, that the Lord is with us, as one who knows that experience from within, and, so, can be our strength in weakness. When Saint Paul was experiencing his own Golgotha in a Roman prison he wrote to the church in Philippi, ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me’. We can all make those words of Paul our own.
Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.
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