At The Procession With Palms: Mark 11:1-10

Reflection:

Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey and being cheered by the crowds. This event fulfills prophesies of the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Jesus was hailed by the people as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord,” indicating that the people viewed Him as their long awaited Messiah, who would rescue them from their oppressors and reign as the king of a re-established Davidic kingdom. Jesus was not, however, a warrior king and He did not intend to militarily drive out the oppressive enemy nation of Rome. Rather, Jesus showed himself to be a humble king, riding on a peaceful donkey, rather than a war horse. Instead of conquering the Romans, He allowed Himself to be conquered by them through His crucifixion. But, in the end, He conquered sin and death (the true oppressors of God’s people) through His Resurrection. 

The tides soon turned from the jubilant procession of Palm Sunday to the sorrowful events of Jesus’ Passion (which we hear proclaimed in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading). The crowds who cheered and hailed Him on Sunday would call for His crucifixion on Friday. But God allowed this darkness, evil, and suffering to take place in order to bring about a much greater good–the salvation of souls. For God can bring about the greatest of goods from the worst of evils. He did that in Holy Week two thousands years ago, and He can still do that today in our lives this Holy Week. Let us walk with Jesus this Holy Week from the jubilation on Palm Sunday to the desolation on Good Friday and to the joyous celebration on Easter Sunday.

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7

Reflection:

These words from the book of the prophet Isaiah ring true in the the person of Jesus Christ. He fulfills this prophecy (which was written centuries before His life, death, and resurrection). Jesus is the “Suffering Servant” described in the book of Isaiah. If we put the words from this passage in the mouth of Jesus during His Passion, they describe His experience. Jesus was faithful to the end, having “not rebelled…not turned back.” Jesus “gave [his] back to those who beat [him]…[and]…[his] cheeks to those who plucked his beard…[and]…did not shield [his face] from buffets and spitting.” Even though He experienced these sufferings (and more) during His Passion, Jesus still trusted in the Lord GOD, His Father, throughout it all. Jesus was intent on completing His mission to die for our sins so that we may have life in Him, for He “set [his] face like flint” to this end (a phrase which is explicitly used to describe Jesus’ determination to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die in Luke 9:51). What a wonderful Savior we have, who would experience such brutality–such extreme suffering and death–for us. As we enter into Holy Week, let us remember to be grateful for how much Jesus sacrificed in order to offer us salvation.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11

Reflection:

This passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which possibly came from an early Christian hymn, succinctly and profoundly articulates the kerygma, which is a Greek word referring to the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In this reading, we hear about the Incarnation (“he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness”), the Crucifixion (“becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”), and the Resurrection and Exaltation of Jesus (“God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name”). Jesus, who is fully God (namely, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity), humbled Himself. That is profound! In humility, he became human (entering the world as a baby), and submitted Himself to one of the most excruciating and humiliating forms of execution ever invented by humanity. As God, Jesus did not have to do any of this. But He chose to “empty Himself” and give of Himself fully out of self-giving love, in order to bring humanity salvation from sins. This is amazing! While not everyone will accept that gift of salvation, we know that one day “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Gospel Reading: Mark 14:1-15:47

Reflection:

The Passion narrative, read each Palm Sunday, recounts the events that will soon be commemorated in the Triduum (three days)–namely, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The tides turn quickly during Holy Week from the jubilation and celebration of the crowds over Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the crowds yelling “Let him be crucified!” at His trial before Pontius Pilate. There are many characters involved (and even named) in the Passion narrative–for example, Pilate, the Roman soldiers, Judas, Peter, the Twelve, Barabbas, Caiaphas, Simon of Cyrene, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, and more. Out of all those people, the majority are against Jesus or abandon Him. Only a few stayed with Him–namely, the Apostle John, Mary Magdalene, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Joseph of Arimathea, and a few others. Beyond the physical suffering, just think of the emotional suffering Jesus experienced–one of His closest friends, Judas, betrayed Him; the crowds (which must have included some who had been His disciples and some of those who jubilantly welcomed Him on Palm Sunday) turned on Him, most of the Twelve abandoned Him, Peter denied Him, Caiaphas and the other Jewish leaders falsely accused Him, the Romans mocked Him, and the list goes on. 

Yet, Jesus remained steadfast. As indicated in the First Reading, Jesus did not rebel nor turn back. Rather, He humbly submitted Himself to the suffering for our sake (as recounted in the Second Reading). Jesus, in fact, was in control throughout the entire Passion Narrative. He allowed this all to happen to Him, because it was His mission to die for the sins of the world. Jesus could have gotten Himself out of the suffering at any time, for He said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). This indicates the irony of the taunts from the Jewish leaders at the crucifixion when they said, “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Jesus, in fact, could have come down from the cross, for as the Roman centurion proclaimed, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” But Jesus humbly and submissively chose not to come down from the cross or to stop the suffering because of His unconditional love for all of us! One way of articulating this is: “It was not the nails that held Him to the cross, but His love for you and me.”

All that said, the events in the Passion Narrative, which we refer to as the Paschal Mystery, are the pivotal events in human history and are at the core of our Christian faith. If Jesus did not die, we would be left without a means of salvation. We would be stuck in the muck of sin without a Savior to set us free. Thankfully, Jesus became “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” And that is not the end of the story, as one week after Palm Sunday we will celebrate the most glorious event in human history, the Resurrection of Jesus. Easter is coming, which gives us the promise of life after death, hope out of despair, and salvation from sin. Jesus gave everything out of love for us. Let us, therefore, give ourselves in sacrificial love back to Him.

Application:

  • What do you plan to do to make Holy Week set apart from other weeks of the year? Be specific about action steps to take to walk through Holy Week prayerfully, intentionally, and sacrificially this year.
  • How will you unite your sufferings to the sufferings of Christ? In other words, how can you humbly submit to the crosses you’ve been given in life, like Christ did? Ask Jesus to help you bear your crosses and offer those sufferings to Him for the good of others (and yourself).