20190414
LEARNING
THE LESSONS OF BEING ILL-PREPARED
14 APRIL, 2019,
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
This gospel is read at
the procession with palms before Mass:
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Gospel
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Luke 19:28-40 ©
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Blessings on him who comes in the name
of the Lord.
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Jesus went on ahead, going up to
Jerusalem.
When he drew near to Bethphage and
Bethany,
at the mount that is called Olivet,
he sent two disciples,
saying, ‘Go into the village opposite,
where on entering you will find a colt
tied,
on which no one has ever yet sat;
untie it and bring it here.
If any one asks you,
“Why are you untying it?”
you shall say this,
“The Lord has need of it.”’
So those who were sent
went away and found it as he had told
them.
And as they were untying the colt,
its owners said to them,
‘Why are you untying the colt?’
And they said,
‘The Lord has need of it.’
And they brought it to Jesus,
and throwing their garments on the colt
they set Jesus upon it.
And as he rode along,
they spread their garments on the road.
As he was drawing near,
at the descent of the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of the disciples
began to rejoice and praise God with a
loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had
seen,
saying,
‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name
of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’
And some of the Pharisees in the multitude
said to him,
‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’
He answered,
‘I tell you, if these were silent,
the very stones would cry out.’
The following are the
readings at the Mass itself:
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First reading
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Isaiah 50:4-7 ©
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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:
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Gospel
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Luke 22:14-23:56 ©
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The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
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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.
OR:
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Alternative Gospel
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Luke 23:1-49 ©
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The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
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Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C.
Crowd, or more than one speaker.
N. The elders of the people and the chief priests
and scribes rose, and they brought Jesus 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.
LEARNING THE
LESSONS OF BEING ILL-PREPARED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isaiah 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9,17-20,23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14-23:56 (or ><
23:1-49) ]
Today, the Church begins
the celebration of Holy Week with the Palm Sunday Service. The liturgy of Palm Sunday gives us a
preview of the events leading to the passion, death and resurrection of our
Lord. This is to prepare us who, as disciples of our Lord, follow Jesus
by commemorating His passion, death and resurrection. To celebrate these
mysteries meaningfully, we too need to make our own preparations as Jesus did
when He dispatched His disciples to prepare for His entry into Jerusalem to
celebrate the final Passover.
How do we prepare
ourselves for a meaningful celebration of the Paschal Mystery, His passion,
death and resurrection? More
than just a material and ritualistic preparation for these mysteries we are
celebrating is the preparation of our hearts. Celebrating Holy Week is
more than just attending the services, especially the Sacred Triduum, but
disposing our hearts and minds as we enter into the heart of the celebration of
these mysteries.
Otherwise, we too have
not learnt the lessons presented to us in today’s scripture readings. The grace for us Christians today, unlike
that of the apostles and disciples during the time of our Lord, is that we have
the benefit of foresight. The apostles and disciples were so caught up
with the development of the events that they had no time to ponder and reflect
on what they were doing and how they were reacting. Instead, they were
carried away by the momentum of the events. Rather than taking control of
the events as they unfolded, they were overcome by the events, resulting in
their making foolish mistakes and decisions. But we have the grace of
foresight to know what happened and therefore we must not allow history to
repeat itself by paying attention to the mistakes that they made as we reflect
on the scripture readings today.
It was unfortunate that
in spite of spending three years in intimacy with the Lord, following Him
daily, yet they were ill prepared for the Lord’s Passover. This was
because they had their own misconceptions of how the Kingdom of God would be
established. They
thought that Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to overthrow the Romans, their
enemies. Judas wanted Jesus to show forth His mighty powers by destroying the
Romans. This explains why Jesus spoke about the swords. “They said,
‘Lord, there are two swords here now.’ He said to them, ‘That is enough!'” But
this would not be the Lord’s way.
The Kingdom of God would
not be established by force or might. It would be established not through
political power but humble service, love, forgiveness and compassion. The second reading from St Paul speaks of
the path of the Lord in restoring the Kingdom of God. “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’ way of
establishing the kingdom of peace was through self-emptying in non-violence.
Indeed, as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, the Lord 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.”
Indeed, the Kingdom of
God goes beyond politics and human power. That is why there is a separation between
Church and State. The Church, like Jesus, is not interested in politics
or in gaining political power. The Church is concerned with the spiritual
welfare of its people. She gets involved in politics only insofar as she
seeks to assist the legitimate government to make possible the means for their
citizens to live a life of justice, peace, progress and unity. This
explains why Jesus told Pilate in no uncertain terms that His Kingdom was not
of this world. He was not even interested to talk to Herod.
Hence, Pilate was convinced that Jesus was not a political revolutionary as
claimed by His accusers. “He said, ‘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 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.”
Truly, the real enemy in
Jesus’ estimate was not the Romans but ourselves. It is sin that makes us
slaves of worldly power, glory, honor and wealth. Even the disciples
themselves followed Jesus for the wrong motives. They were no better than
the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders. They were concerned with
political and religious powers. The priests were closely aligned with the
Roman establishment because they sought power, prestige and wealth. One
of the reasons why Jesus was considered dangerous was because He was a
potential revolutionary in changing the social and religious order of the
day. The charge they made was that “He is inflaming the people with this
teaching all over Judaea; it has come all the way from Galilee, where he
started, down to here.” But the disciples were no better. They too
sought earthly powers. It is unthinkable that just a few hours before the
Lord’s passion was to begin, they were still arguing among themselves who was
the greatest.
Hence, Jesus made it
clear, “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 the table or the
one who serves? The one at the table, surely? Yet here I am among you as the
one who serves!” The only power that is given to us is the power of
humble service, charity, compassion and forgiveness. These are the powers
that the disciples of the Lord would be given. With these powers, we will
change and transform the world. It is the power of lowliness and
humility, not one of arrogance and vindictiveness. This explains why the
Lord was welcomed to Jerusalem as the King of Peace, sitting on a donkey, not
on a horse as warriors. “At the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole
multitude of the disciples begin to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who
comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest!'”
The question is whether
we will support Jesus and follow Him in this path to build the Kingdom of God
on earth. When
the people realized that Jesus would not be using His might and power to
destroy the Romans, they turned against Him. What about us? Will we
also betray our Lord like the Jews who were not happy with the way Jesus took
to establish the Kingdom of God? They wanted to have it their way.
That was why they chose a criminal and a murderer to lead them instead.
They said to Pilate, “‘Away with him! Give us Barrabas!’ This man had been
thrown into prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.”
Do we give up Jesus for
the things of this world? For
the sake of political, economic, social and religious power, many give up
Jesus. We are not faithful to the gospel message of self-emptying
in humble service. Like the disciples, we are cowards. Like Peter
and the rest, they abandoned the Lord out of fear when their lives and worldly
honour were at stake. Peter even denied Jesus in front of a servant and a
maid! Although we proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and master, when it
comes to the crunch, we choose earthly power, wealth and glory and recognition
by the world instead of being faithful to the gospel message. We too have
run away instead of standing by Jesus and the Church in times of persecution
and trials. We too dare not acknowledge Jesus in public. Like the
disciples and the Jews, we simply follow the crowd. Isn’t it true of our
people today? We are easily taken up by the propaganda of the world and
follow blindly what we read on social media without proper discernment of the
truths and the values that are taught. We listen more to the arguments of
the world than the truths found in the scriptures which we pay lip service as
the Word of God.
Thus, it behooves us to
be alert if we do not want to fall into the same mistakes of the disciples and
the Jews. The Lord warned
His disciples twice, “Pray not to be put to the test.” Unlike the
disciples, we must not be overconfident of our strength. We need to find
strength from the Lord in prayer and especially meditation on the Word of God.
This was what the Suffering Servant advised us, “The Lord Yahweh 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 Yahweh has opened my ear. 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.” So let us enter into Holy Week by
spending this week in deep prayer and contemplation of our Lord’s passion and
death so that we too can be exalted with Him in the resurrection.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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