20180325
FITTING CHRIST’S IMAGE INTO OURS
25 MARCH, 2018, Palm Sunday
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
This
gospel is read at the procession with palms before Mass:
EITHER:
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Gospel
|
Mark 11:1-10 ©
|
|
Blessings
on him who comes in the name of the Lord.
|
When they drew near to Jerusalem,
to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two of his disciples, and said to them,
‘Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately as you enter it
you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat;
untie it and bring it.
If any one says to you,
“Why are you doing this?” say,
“The Lord has need of it
and will send it back here immediately.’”
And they went away,
and found a colt tied at the door out in the open street;
and they untied it.
And those who stood there said to them,
‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’
And they told them what Jesus had said;
and they let them go.
And they brought the colt to Jesus,
and threw their garments on it;
and he sat upon it.
And many spread their garments on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
which they had cut from the fields.
And those who went before
and those who followed cried out,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming!
Hosanna in the highest!’
OR:
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Alternative
Gospel
|
John 12:12-16 ©
|
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Blessings
on him who comes in the name of the Lord.
|
A great crowd who had come to the feast
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
So they took branches of palm trees
and went out to meet him, crying,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
even the king of Israel!’
And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as is written,
‘Fear not, daughter of Sion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on an ass’s colt!’
His disciples did not understand this at first;
but when Jesus was glorified,
then they remembered that this had been written of him
and had been done to him.
The
following are the readings at the Mass itself:
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First reading
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Isaiah 50:4-7 ©
|
|
I did not cover my face against insult: I know I shall not be
shamed
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The Lord has given me
a disciple’s tongue.
So that I may know how to reply to the wearied
he provides me with speech.
Each morning he wakes me to hear,
to listen like a disciple.
The Lord has opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help,
so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint;
I know I shall not be shamed.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 21(22):8-9,17-20,23-24 ©
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
All who see me deride me.
They curl their lips, they toss their heads.
‘He trusted in the Lord, let him save him;
let him release him if this is his friend.’
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Many dogs have surrounded me,
a band of the wicked beset me.
They tear holes in my hands and my feet
I can count every one of my bones.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
They divide my clothing among them.
They cast lots for my robe.
O Lord, do not leave me alone,
my strength, make haste to help me!
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
I will tell of your name to my brethren
and praise you where they are assembled.
‘You who fear the Lord give him praise;
all sons of Jacob, give him glory.
Revere him, Israel’s sons.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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Second reading
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Philippians 2:6-11 ©
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Christ humbled himself but God raised him high
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His state was divine,
yet Christ Jesus did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Phil2:8-9
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Christ was humbler yet,
even to accepting death, death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name which is above all names.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
EITHER:
|
Gospel
|
Mark 14:1-15:47 ©
|
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The
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
|
Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other
single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. It was two days
before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests
and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by some trick and have
him put to death. For they said,
C. It must not be
during the festivities, or there will be a disturbance among the people.
N. Jesus was at
Bethany in the house of Simon the leper; he was at dinner when a woman came in
with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, pure nard. She broke the jar and
poured the ointment on his head. Some who were there said to one another
indignantly,
C. Why this waste of
ointment? Ointment like this could have been sold for over three hundred
denarii and the money given to the poor.
N. and they were
angry with her. But Jesus said,
✠ Leave her alone.
Why are you upsetting her? What she has done for me is one of the good works.
You have the poor with you always, and you can be kind to them whenever you
wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what was in her power to
do: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. I tell you solemnly,
wherever throughout all the world the Good News is proclaimed, what she has
done will be told also, in remembrance of her.
N. Judas Iscariot,
one of the Twelve, approached the chief priests with an offer to hand Jesus
over to them. They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him money;
and he looked for a way of betraying him when the opportunity should occur.
On the first
day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples
said to him,
C. Where do you want
us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?
N. So he sent two of
his disciples, saying to them,
✠ Go into the city
and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the
owner of the house which he enters, ‘The Master says: “Where is my dining room
in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?”’ He will show you a large
upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us
there.
N. The disciples set
out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared
the Passover.
When evening
came he arrived with the Twelve. And while they were at table eating, Jesus
said,
✠ I tell you
solemnly, one of you is about to betray me, one of you eating with me.
N. They were
distressed and asked him, one after another,
C. Not I, surely?
N. He said to them,
✠ It is one of the
Twelve, one who is dipping into the same dish with me. Yes, the Son of Man is
going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom
the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!
N. And as they were
eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and
gave it to them, saying:
✠ Take it: this is
my body.
N. Then he took a
cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it,
and he said to them,
✠ This is my blood,
the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you
solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in
the kingdom of God.
N. After psalms had
been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them,
✠ You will all lose
faith, for the scripture says: ‘I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep will
be scattered.’ However, after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee.
N. Peter said,
O. Even if all lose
faith, I will not.
N. And Jesus said to
him,
✠ I tell you
solemnly, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will have
disowned me three times.
N. But he repeated
still more earnestly,
O. If I have to die
with you, I will never disown you.
N. And they all said
the same.
They came to
a small estate called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples,
✠ Stay here while I
pray.
N. Then he took Peter
and James and John with him. And a sudden fear came over him, and great
distress. And he said to them,
✠ My soul is
sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here, and keep awake.
N. And going on a
little further he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were
possible, this hour might pass him by. He said:
✠ Abba (Father)!
Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as
you, not I, would have it.
N. He came back and
found them sleeping, and he said to Peter,
✠ Simon, are you
asleep? Had you not the strength to keep awake one hour? You should be awake,
and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.
N. Again he went away
and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came back and found them
sleeping, their eyes were so heavy; and they could find no answer for him. He
came back a third time and said to them,
✠ You can sleep on
now and take your rest. It is all over. The hour has come. Now the Son of Man
is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is
close at hand already.
N. Even while he was
still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up with a number of men armed
with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the
elders. Now the traitor had arranged a signal with them. He had said, ‘The one
I kiss he is the man. Take him in charge, and see he is well guarded when you
lead him away.’ So when the traitor came, he went straight up to Jesus and
said,
O. Rabbi!
N. and kissed him.
The others seized him and took him in charge. Then one of the bystanders drew
his sword and struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.
Then Jesus
spoke:
✠ Am I a brigand,
that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I was among you
teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me. But this
is to fulfil the scriptures.
N. And they all
deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a
linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and
ran away naked.
They led
Jesus off to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the
scribes assembled there. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the
high priest’s palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at
the fire.
The chief
priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on
which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any. Several,
indeed, brought false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting.
Some stood up and submitted this false evidence against him,
C. We heard him say,
‘I am going to destroy this Temple made by human hands, and in three days build
another, not made by human hands.’
N. But even on this
point their evidence was conflicting. The high priest then stood up before the
whole assembly and put this question to Jesus,
O. Have you no answer
to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?
N. But he was silent
and made no answer at all. The high priest put a second question to him,
O. Are you the
Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?
N. Jesus said,
✠ I am, and you will
see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the
clouds of heaven.
N. The high priest
tore his robes, and said:
O. What need of
witnesses have we now? You heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?
N. And they all gave
their verdict: he deserved to die.
Some of them
started spitting at him and, blindfolding him, began hitting him with their
fists and shouting,
C. Play the prophet!
N. And the attendants
rained blows on him.
While Peter
was down below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s servant-girls came
up. She saw Peter warming himself there, stared at him and said,
O. You too were with
Jesus, the man from Nazareth.
N. But he denied it,
saying.
O. I do not know, I
do not understand, what you are talking about.
N. And he went out
into the forecourt. The servant-girl saw him and again started telling the
bystanders,
O. This fellow is one
of them.
N. But again he
denied it. A little later the bystanders themselves said to Peter,
C. You are one of
them for sure! Why, you are a Galilean.
N. But he started
calling down curses on himself and swearing,
O. I do not know the
man you speak of.
N. At that moment the
cock crew for the second time, and Peter recalled how Jesus had said to him,
‘Before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me three times.’ And he
burst into tears.
First thing
in the morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes, in
short the whole Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took
him away and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate
questioned him:
O. Are you the king
of the Jews?
N. He answered,
✠ It is you who say
it.
N. And the chief
priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again:
O. Have you no reply
at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!
N. But, to Pilate’s
amazement, Jesus made no further reply.
At festival
time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, anyone they asked for. Now a
man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rioters who had committed
murder during the uprising. When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary
favour, Pilate answered them
O. Do you want me to
release for you the king of the Jews?
N. For he realised it
was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. The chief
priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release
Barabbas for them instead. Then Pilate spoke again:
O. But in that case,
what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?
N. They shouted back,
C. Crucify him!
N. Pilate asked them,
O. Why? What harm has
he done?
N. But they shouted
all the louder,
C. Crucify him!
N. So Pilate, anxious
to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, having ordered Jesus to
be scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers
led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and
called the whole cohort together. They dressed him up in purple, twisted some
thorns into a crown and put it on him. And they began saluting him,
C. Hail, king of the
Jews!
N. They struck his
head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him
homage. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple
and dressed him in his own clothes.
They
enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was
coming in from the country, to carry his cross. They brought Jesus to the place
called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.
They offered
him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it. Then they crucified him, and
shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get. It was
the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge
against him read: ‘The King of the Jews.’ And they crucified two robbers with
him, one on his right and one on his left.
The
passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
C. Aha! So you would
destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down
from the cross!
N. The chief priests
and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. They said,
C. He saved others;
he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the
cross now, for us to see it and believe.
N. Even those who
were crucified with him taunted him.
When the
sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
✠ Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?
N. which means, ‘My
God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard
this, they said
C. Listen, he is
calling on Elijah.
N. Someone ran and
soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink,
saying:
O. Wait and see if
Elijah will come to take him down.
N. But Jesus gave a
loud cry and breathed his last.
All kneel and pause for a moment.
And the veil
of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was
standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said,
O. In truth this man
was a son of God.
N. There were some
women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary who was
the mother of James the younger and Joset, and Salome. These used to follow him
and look after him when he was in Galilee. And there were many other women
there who had come up to Jerusalem with him.
It was now
evening, and since it was Preparation Day (that is, the vigil of the sabbath),
there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent member of the Council, who himself
lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, and he boldly went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate, astonished that he should have died so
soon, summoned the centurion and enquired if he was already dead. Having been
assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph who bought a
shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and laid him
in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against
the entrance to the tomb. Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were
watching and took note of where he was laid.
OR:
|
Alternative
Gospel
|
Mark 15:1-39 ©
|
|
The
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
|
Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other
single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. First thing in the
morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes – in
short, the whole Sanhedrin – had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound
and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate
questioned him:
O. Are you the king
of the Jews?
N. He answered,
✠ It is you who say
it.
N. And the chief
priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again:
O. Have you no reply
at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!
N. But, to Pilate’s
amazement, Jesus made no further reply.
At festival
time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, anyone they asked for. Now a
man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rioters who had committed
murder during the uprising. When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary
favour, Pilate answered them
O. Do you want me to
release for you the king of the Jews?
N. For he realised it
was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. The chief
priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release
Barabbas for them instead. Then Pilate spoke again:
O. But in that case,
what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?
N. They shouted back,
C. Crucify him!
N. Pilate asked them,
O. Why? What harm has
he done?
N. But they shouted
all the louder,
C. Crucify him!
N. So Pilate, anxious
to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, having ordered Jesus to
be scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers
led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and
called the whole cohort together. They dressed him up in purple, twisted some
thorns into a crown and put it on him. And they began saluting him,
C. Hail, king of the
Jews!
N. They struck his
head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him
homage. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple
and dressed him in his own clothes.
They
enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was
coming in from the country, to carry his cross. They brought Jesus to the place
called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.
They offered
him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it. Then they crucified him, and
shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get. It was
the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge
against him read: ‘The King of the Jews.’ And they crucified two robbers with
him, one on his right and one on his left.
The
passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
C. Aha! So you would
destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down
from the cross!
N. The chief priests
and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. They said,
C. He saved others;
he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the
cross now, for us to see it and believe.
N. Even those who
were crucified with him taunted him.
When the
sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
✠ Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?
N. which means, ‘My
God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard
this, they said
C. Listen, he is
calling on Elijah.
N. Someone ran and
soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink,
saying:
O. Wait and see if
Elijah will come to take him down.
N. But Jesus gave a
loud cry and breathed his last.
All kneel and pause for a moment.
And the veil
of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was
standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said,
O. In truth this man
was a son of God.
FITTING CHRIST’S IMAGE INTO OURS
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
[ MK 11:1-10; ISA 50:4-7; PHIL 2:6-11; MK 14:1-15:47 (OR><15:1-39) ]
As we enter
into Holy Week, we are invited to accompany Jesus into Jerusalem. This
was why we have the procession of the palms. Following the people
of Jerusalem, we too hail Jesus as our King and our savior.“And those who went in front
and those who followed were all shouting, “Hosanna! Blessings on him who comes
in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heavens.” By His deliberate entry into Jerusalem
on a donkey, Jesus was claiming to be the Promised Messiah fulfilling the
prophecies of Zechariah (9:9) and Zephaniah (3:16-19) It is
significant that Jesus rode on a lowly donkey as a humble king of peace, not as
a warrior on a horse as during wartime. (cf 1 Kg 1:38-41) But He also
came as the Son of God, for the gospel noted that the donkey which Jesus sat
was never ridden before as it was required for an animal that was carrying the
Ark of the Covenant (1 Sm 6:7) In using the word, “Hosanna” they were
in effect saying, “God save the king of Israel.”
But the
kingship of Jesus was a mistaken one. This was what He sought to avoid throughout His
whole ministry. The people were looking for a political king
that could drive out the Romans. They already tried to do this after the
multiplication of loaves. This was true for Judas and many of the
disciples of Jesus too, who were hoping for a revolution. One of the
suggestions why Judas betrayed Jesus was because He did not fit into his
image. But Jesus’ idea of kingship was not a political one but
spiritual. It is the reign of God in the hearts of men and women.
It is not about politics but about the conversion of the human heart, which
could then impact how politics is conducted for the people. This explains
why Jesus was finally charged not with a religious crime but with a political
crime indicated by the title affixed to the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews.” This accounts for why the people turned against Jesus
when they realized that He would not be the political revolutionary leader they
expected. Thus they pressed Pilate to release Barabbas. He
“was then in prison with the rioters who had committed murder during the
uprising.”
Jesus too,
could not fit into the image of what the religious leaders had expected of the
Messiah. They had no preconceived idea of what true faith was all about.
Hence, they were upset that Jesus was challenging the status quo of the
religious institutions, the system of worship, the Sabbath Law, the customary
practices, the rituals and the reinterpretation of the Laws of Moses. For
them, Jesus was a deviant, a dangerous man who was destroying Judaism. He
was someone that they needed to get rid of. Furthermore, Jesus was
exposing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who were quite comfortable in
their positions. They were getting rich at the expense of the
people. They were all out to remove Jesus. Hence, they framed Jesus
with all kinds of charges which could not hold water. This was what the
evangelist noted, “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for
evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death-sentence. But
they could not find any. Several, indeed, brought false evidence against him,
but their evidence was conflicting.” This came to a head when Jesus
claimed to be the Messiah when the High Priest asked Him. “’Are you the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with clouds of heaven.’ The
high priest tore his robes, and said, ‘What witnesses have we now? You heard
the blasphemy. What is your finding?’ And they all gave their verdict: he
deserved to die.”
Aren’t we
also in the same situation? Many of us have our own preconceived ideas in
following Christ. We think that to follow Christ means that there will be no
suffering and that God will bless us with riches and the goodness of
life. We feel that God should give us what we want when we serve
Him. Indeed, many of us give up our faith because Christ did not grant us
our petitions. How many have left the Church because of personal
tragedies in their lives, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a child, or loss
of jobs and failures in business or the loss of health. We get angry with
God because instead of rewarding us with blessings, He calls us to suffer even
more.
This is true
even of those involved in ministry. Many of us who serve the Church leave
bitter, because of politics in the Church. The truth is that where
there are human beings, there will be politics. People have different
views of how things should be done, and of deciding what is important. There is
bound to be disagreement. Above all, we are not dealing with saints but
sinners who are seeking to serve God. Many of us are wounded, come from
different backgrounds, experiences, different world views and therefore see
life differently. As a consequence of disagreement and unhappiness, some
have left the Church and even the faith, because of quarrels, misunderstandings
and even slander.
During this
Holy Week, how do we accompany Jesus as He makes His last entry into
Jerusalem? We are called to contemplate on His life, especially His passion. We must enter into the heart
of God by contemplating on the passion of Christ so that we will be moved into
total surrender. We begin by reflecting on the journey of Christ
from heaven to earth and back to His Father. St Paul’s letter to the Philippians
reflects on the depth of God’s love in Christ. “His state was
divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to
assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men
are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.”
Jesus descended twice as a man, and humbler than most men, even unto innocent
death, the most shameful of punishment.
The truth is
that the way to glory requires us to enter into the passion of Christ, sharing
in His suffering, humiliation, rejection and even death if we were to share in
the fullness of life. It was Jesus’ humble submission to the innocent suffering
that He went through that the Father raised Him from the dead. All
through the trial, we see the travesty of justice. He was charged for a
political crime He did not commit. He was framed by the religious
authorities who made use of the gullible crowd to charge Him for a political
crime. But how did He react? Like the Suffering Servant, He said, “For my
part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those
who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.” Jesus took upon all human sins and suffering
so that by overcoming hatred with love, forgiveness with injustice, He showed
us the way to suffer with Him so that we can share in His glory. He
reacted with humility, obedience, non-retaliation and non-violence. This
was the way, Jesus fulfilled His mission.
So with the
psalmist, in our innocent suffering, let us entrust our life to the Lord as the
Suffering Servant did, and our Lord Himself. “The Lord Yahweh comes
to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults. So, too, I set my face
like flint; I know I shall not be shamed.” Indeed, Christ was raised on
High because He submitted so humbly in death. “But God raised him high and gave
him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens,
on the earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of the
Father.”
Today we are
called to undertake this same journey as we continue to deepen our meditation
on the passion of Christ. As we take this journey in coming to appreciate Christ’s
extreme love and mercy for us, let us also examine the part we play in
crucifying Jesus again and again because of our sins. The different
characters in the passion play depict our attitude towards Christ. To follow
Christ requires us to share in His passion. Most of all, it requires obedience
to His will. It is by submission to His will that we accomplish the
mission of Christ. Indeed, the word, “sub-mission” means that we place
ourselves in all that we do under the mission of Christ. What is this
mission, if not to overcome sins, establish His reign of love and peace through
humble service, self-sacrifice, self-denial and carrying the sufferings of
others in our bodies as we seek to relieve and heal them of their pains as
Jesus did? Indeed, the passion narrative underscores that life is found not by
seizing it but by giving it away. The passion and the cross reminds us
that authentic love is the giving of ourselves and that brings real peace into
the world.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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