Passion / Palm Sunday April 02, 2023
Readings: Isaiah
50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66
A certain man was walking down a certain avenue in New York,
accompanied by his little boy. The lad became very interested in the lighted
windows of the houses, and clapped his hands whenever he saw a star at the
window pane of the houses.
As they passed house after house, he would say: "Oh,
look, daddy, there's another house that has given a son to the war!
And there's another! There's one with two stars! And look,
there's a house with no star at all!"
After quite some time, they came to a some vacant places
where there were no houses. However, in the vast expanse, the evening star was
seen shining brightly in the sky.
The little fellow caught his breath and with an excited
exclaim said: "Oh, look, Daddy," he cried, "God must have given
His Son, for He has got a Star in His window."
“He has indeed!' said Daddy!
Today with the beginning of the Holy week, we focus intently
on the heart of the mystery of Salvation. It is the mystery of dying and
rising, the mystery of humiliation and exaltation. Today’s liturgy prepares us specially for the
passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Liturgy gives the picture of Joy and at the same time invites us to
meditate on his sufferings. What Jesus experiences for us is a manifestation of
God's overwhelming love for each one of us.
Further, by our identifying ourselves with the 'mystery' of Jesus'
suffering, death and resurrection we ourselves experience a great liberation, a
'Passover' from various forms of sin and enslavement to a life of joy and
freedom. Hence today's liturgy combines
both a sense of triumph and tragedy.
Very importantly, we are reminded at the beginning, that we are about to
commemorate the triumph of Christ our King.
We do this through the blessing of palms, the procession and the joyful
singing.
In this passion narrative, we see the unfathomable love of
God for us human persons shown in his beloved son Jesus. When we see the
crucifix we see the Son of God nailed hands and feet to that cross, slowly
shedding his blood for us.
In particular, today’s liturgy combines two moments seen in
contrast: one of glory, — the welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem — the other of
suffering: the drama of his trial which ends in his condemnation, crucifixion,
and death. Let us rejoice and sing as Jesus comes into our life today.
Today's readings tell us that Jesus suffered as a human
person and he underwent pain that we associate with the more barbaric forms of
torture in our own day. But he must also
have suffered psychologically and this pain may have been even more
intense. It seemed as if his entire
mission collapsed all around him and all looked like a failure. His disciples had all left him alone to
suffer and ran away as soon as he was arrested.
During this time of sufferings, he experienced terrible loneliness. His disciples fell asleep in the garden when
he needed their support. They ran off as
soon as people came to arrest Jesus. Even
the Father seemed to be silent and apparently did nothing to reduce his
pain. There is the final poignant cry
from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet through it
all Jesus' the dignity, power and authority kept on shining, making his captors
and enemies to be the ones on the defensive.
Do I see such a reality around me today? The collapse of
your business, the rejection of your close associates and friends, betrayal,
loneliness and temptation to give up! Look at Jesus. His triumphant entry into
Jerusalem was a glorious one. But, it was only a temporary event. He knew what
was waiting for him. He is the star that must hang on our hearts and gain strength
and light to live our lives. This week let us welcome Jesus into our lives and
ask Him to allow us a share in His suffering, death, and Resurrection. This is
the time of the year when we stop to remember and relive the events which
brought about our redemption and salvation. The Holy Week liturgies present us
with the actual events of the dying and rising of Jesus.
Wish you all a blessed Holy Week
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