20240324 DEFINING YOUR LIFE
24 March 2024, Palm Sunday
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!’
First reading | Isaiah 50:4-7 © |
I did not cover my face against insult: I know I shall not be shamed
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 21(22):8-9,17-20,23-24 © |
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?
Second reading |
Philippians 2:6-11 © |
Christ humbled himself but God raised him high
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Phil2:8-9 |
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!
Gospel | Mark 14:1-15:47 © |
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,
O. The one I kiss he is the man. Take him in charge, and see he is well guarded when you lead him away.
N. 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 led him out to crucify him: 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.
DEFINING YOUR LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [MK 11:1-10; ISA 50:4-7; PHIL 2:6-11; MK 14:1-15:47 (OR MK 15:1-39)]
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, when the Church commemorates the last days of Jesus on earth, ending with His death and resurrection. The Paschal Mystery sums up the life of Jesus, His entire mission and His identity. For this reason, this is the most Holy Week for Christians in the year when we are called to reflect on the last days of His life on earth. These last days define the ultimate purpose of His mission and also reveal His true identity as the Son of God. Indeed, as we enter into Holy Week, we, too, are invited to reflect on how we want to define our life when we reach the end of our sojourn on this earth.
There is this story about a great scientist by the name of Alfred Nobel who made a great fortune manufacturing and selling weapons of destruction. One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, woke up to read his own obituary in the Newspaper. A reporter mistakenly thought it was Alfred Nobel, when it was his brother who had died. But what shocked him to his senses was when he realized how the world saw him as the “Dynamite King”, and no more. He was only remembered as a merchant of death, and for that alone. Nothing else was mentioned about his efforts to bring people to share ideas. So horrified was he that he was determined to let the world know the true purpose of his life, which was to promote peace and understanding. So he wrote his Last Will, bequeathing all his fortune to establish the most valued of all prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize. Now no one remembers him as the Dynamite King but for his mission of peace.
What about us? How do we want to be remembered? What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind for our loved ones and for our community? In the gospel, we read of some unknown men who allowed Jesus to use his colt to enter the city. They never stopped the disciples from taking away the colt. What they did would be immortalized in the scriptures. So, too, the case of an unknown woman who brought very costly ointment, pure nard to wash the head of Jesus. In spite of objections to her spending so much money on the ointment instead of giving it to the poor, the Lord sided with her. He 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 so: 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.”
Unfortunately, in the case of the religious leaders, Pilate and Judas, they ended with a sad legacy. They are remembered for their crimes. They did not act justly towards Jesus but were blinded by their fears and insecurity. “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.” As a consequence, they had to get some people to bring “false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting.” At the heart of their desire to eliminate Jesus was their fear of Him upsetting their status quo, and posing a challenge to the Temple.
In the case of Pilate, his life was defined by his lack of courage and principles to do what he had to do. He knew that the Jews were framing a political charge against our Lord just to have Him executed, as they lacked the power to pronounce a death sentence on Him. He knew that the charges lacked evidence. He found Jesus innocent. He was afraid of the crowd and afraid of a rebellion which could go out of control. Instead of exposing the hypocrisy of the Jews, he sought to appease them, first by having Jesus stripped and scourged, then crowned and humiliated. When that did not satisfy them, He offered them a choice of freeing a bandit or an innocent man, thinking that they would not dare to choose the bandit and murderer, Barabbas. He tried to excuse himself from being an accomplice to the crime by washing his hands of this action. Today, this act of cowardice, of washing one’s hands, has become an idiom for those who do not wish to take responsibility for an action done. The real reason was that he wanted to keep his position as the governor and thus he sought to be popular with the people. Indeed, he was “anxious to placate the crowd.” And his life was defined in the creed, “he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried.”
As for Judas, he is defined by his act of betrayal with a kiss and died a tragic end. He was immortalized as the man who betrayed Jesus with a kiss for thirty silver pieces. Whether he did it because of his greed or because he was impatient with Jesus for His inaction against the Romans, he was also sadly remembered for his tragic death at the end when he killed himself out of guilt for what he had done. His was indeed a sad case, so much so our Lord remarked, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” (Mt 26:23f)
In the case of Peter, he is remembered as the man who was a coward in standing up for Jesus when he denied our Lord three times as prophesied by our Lord. This man who earlier professed that he would die for Him but denied he knew the Lord three times before a servant. Fortunately, Peter, known for his impetuousness, was also quick to repent. He regretted his mistake and the Lord forgave him after the resurrection. In his case, Peter’s life was defined by weakness, but more importantly, for the power of mercy and grace and forgiveness that made him a leader of the Twelve and the vicar of Christ for His church.
What about Jesus? His life was defined by His standing up for the truth, and becoming a servant for us even unto death, and God raised Him from the dead. He was a man of non-violence. He did not resist arrest. In Mark’ gospel, He was silent before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate. He did not defend Himself. He was not on trial but those who accused Him was in truth put on trial. “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.” He suffered injustice humbly, innocently and willingly.
But the real reason for His submission to crucifixion was that He sought to do the will of God. He came to do His Father’s will. Although as a man, He struggled with the pain ahead of Him, not just because of the cruelty of the crucifixion but because He was carrying the sins of the world. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we saw the man Jesus who was bewildered in His passion. Even His friends abandoned Him in the Garden, weighed down by fatigue. He was all alone with His Father. He said, “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.” As a consequence, He was exalted above all. St Paul wrote, “God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names and every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of the Father.” Jesus was proclaimed Lord at His resurrection. He is defined as the Lord and Saviour of the world.
What about us? How do you want to define your life? What kind of legacy do you wish to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? What would you like written in your obituary? Have you ever thought of what people would say about you at your funeral? Indeed, the vision of your end determines how you will act here and now. There is nothing greater than to be remembered as one who did the will of God and served Him and His people in utter humility. What is the use of being remembered as a wealthy man, a talented man, or even a man who held positions in society? To be known as God’s servant who served unto death and raised to share in His resurrected life is the greatest of all honour. It is therefore important for us to think of our end so that we can decide how we want to live our life. Most of all, we will find peace and joy knowing that we have left this world a better place for the future of humanity. So, to start from the beginning, we must begin with the end. Today, we see the beginning of the end of our Lord, but His end is the beginning of a new humanity, a new creation.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. The contents of this page may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission from the Archbishop’s Office. This includes extracts, quotations, and summaries.
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