Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion (B)

Is 50:4-7
Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Phil 2:6-11
Mt 26:1-9, 66 or Mt 27:11-54

Holy Week begins today. For me, it’s always a time filled with rich memories and dramatic stories. Hello, I'm Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.

During this week, the dramatic story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is linked with the human stories of those preparing for Baptism in our parishes.

At today’s liturgy we’ll listen to the proclamation of the passion and death of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark. Mark gives us a portrait of one who is truly a “Suffering Servant,” first described in the Hebrew Scriptures by Isaiah—whose Servant poems we hear throughout the week, beginning today. In Mark’s Gospel, the Lord spends himself in service to others. The cross he embraces is a powerful sign of his self-giving.

But the story is not only the story of Jesus, as Scripture scholar Eugene LaVerdiere reminds us. It’s also a story about the testing of Jesus’ disciples. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus asked two of them if they could drink from the cup he would drink, and endure the baptism he would receive. In the Passion account, Judas, Peter and finally the rest of the Twelve, fail the test and abandon Jesus.

The Lent just past has invited us to renew our baptismal commitment. The liturgy a week from today will celebrate our rebirth to new life through the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. Let us resolve to enter the story with him today. How will we meet the test?

Scripture:

•I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me… (Isaiah 50:5,6)

•…and for my vesture they cast lots. (Psalm 22:19)

•…he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, (Philippians 2:7,8)

•It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. (Mark 15:25)

Reflection:

•What is happening in your life that requires perseverance?

•What is holding you back and keeping you from your goal?

•How can you strengthen your resolve to remove the obstacles that block your destination?

•How was it possible for Jesus to persevere to the end?

Francis reminds us of our fundamental desire for wholeness. We yearn to integrate mind and heart. We begin by first getting in touch with our heart, in other words cultivating a desire for God’s love. In time thoughts will be guided more and more by a deeper spiritual energy. We will experience the revelation of the Spirit in the here and now—in these people, these birds, this landscape. The heart knows no boundary and gives us the capacity to engage others and the world with surprising intimacy and as truly unique and deserving of our respect.