READINGS AND COMMENTARY
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord – 5 April 2020
Reminder:
I remember vividly the first lecture I attended on the course “Gospel of St. John” 45 years ago. The professor came in. One of the first things he was to do was to instruct us on the required readings for the course. As soon as he sat down, he lifted the huge Standard Edition of the Jerusalem Bible, and said: “This is the only required book you need to read”! – and stopped. No references to books, no commentaries, no articles were uttered. It truly impressed me.
Most people know about something by reading what someone else has written or said about it. Most people have not actually read the actual text of that something. Commentaries, explanations, remarks, instructions, reflections, all can be helpful. But reading the actual Word of God is essential. The Word is the foundation on which everything else is built on. The Word is the present, others are wrappings.
Don’t skip the many and very long scriptural readings throughout Holy Week. Through the ages, reading/listening to Scripture has always been the way Christians spend their time on big feasts.
Even in this lockdown, we don’t really have much time if we are driven by some purpose. Let’s invest our time to get the essential and not get fixated on the decoration, because unlike all the other presents we receive, the content of the Word is infinitely greater than the wrappings.
“In the beginning was the Word”, first words from the Gospel of St. John.
“… Through him (the Word) all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him…” Everything comes after the Word.
Nothing comes to be without the Word. Read it first before reading what others say about it. The Word will create a new beauty in our heart if we read it in the Spirit, patiently, prayerfully, attentively.
Also, no Word, no Mass, actual or spiritual!
Gospel (Just before the Procession with palms)
Matthew 21:1-11 – Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
WHEN they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village facing you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her: untie them and bring them to me.
‘If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,” and he will send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Tell the daughter of Sion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon.
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’
And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.’
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.
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
Matthew 26:14-27:66 – The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
(Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.)
N. One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
O. What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?
N. They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say,
C. Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?
N. He replied:
✠ Go to so-and-so in the city and say to him, ‘The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.’
N. The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said:
✠ I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.
N. They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn,
C. Not I, Lord, surely?
N. He answered,
✠ Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me. 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. Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn,
O. Not I, Rabbi, surely?
N. Jesus answered:
✠ They are your own words.
N. Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said:
✠ Take it and eat; this is my body.
N. Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, saying:
✠ Drink, all of you, from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father.
N. After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them,
✠ You will all lose faith in me this night, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee.
N. At this, Peter said,
O. Though all lose faith in you, I will never lose faith.
N. Jesus answered him,
✠ I tell you solemnly, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have disowned me three times.
N. Peter said to him,
O. Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.
N. And all the disciples said the same.
Then Jesus came with them to a small estate called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
✠ Stay here while I go over there to pray.
N. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him, and great distress. Then he said to them,
✠ My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.
N. And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed:
✠ My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.
N. He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter:
✠ So you had not the strength to keep awake with me 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, a second time, he went away and prayed:
✠ My Father, if this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done!
N. And he came back again and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy. Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. Then he came back to the disciples and said to them,
✠ You can sleep on now and take your rest. Now the hour has come when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is already close at hand.
N. He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a large number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. Now the traitor had arranged a sign with them. He had said,
O. ‘The one I kiss, he is the man. Take him in charge.’
N. So he went straight up to Jesus and said,
O. Greetings, Rabbi.
N. and kissed him. Jesus said to him,
✠ My friend, do what you are here for.
N. Then they came forward, seized Jesus and took him in charge. At that, one of the followers of Jesus grasped his sword and drew it; he struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear. Jesus then said,
✠ Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father who would promptly send more than twelve legions of angels to my defence? But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say this is the way it must be?
N. It was at this time that Jesus said to the crowds,
✠ Am I a brigand, that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I sat teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me.
N. Now all this happened to fulfil the prophecies in scripture. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
The men who had arrested Jesus led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter followed him at a distance, and when he reached the high priest’s palace, he went in and sat down with the attendants to see what the end would be.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward and made a statement,
O. This man said: ‘I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.’
N. The high priest then stood up and said to him,
O. Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?
N. But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him,
O. I put you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
N. Jesus answered:
✠ The words are your own. Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
N. At this, the high priest tore his clothes and said,
O. He has blasphemed. What need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion?
N. They answered,
C. He deserves to die.
N. Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists; others said as they struck him,
C. Play the prophet, Christ! Who hit you then?
N. Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said,
O. You too were with Jesus the Galilean.
N. But he denied it in front of them all, saying:
O. I do not know what you are talking about.
N. When he went out to the gateway another servant-girl saw him and said to the people there,
O. This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.
N. And again, with an oath, he denied it:
O. I do not know the man.
N. A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter,
C. You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent gives you away.
Then he started calling down curses on himself and swearing:
O. I do not know the man.
N. At that moment the cock crew, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the death of Jesus. They had him bound, and led him away to hand him over to Pilate, the governor.
When he found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders, saying:
O. I have sinned. I have betrayed innocent blood.
N. They replied:
C. What is that to us? That is your concern.
N. And flinging down the silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the silver pieces and said,
C. It is against the Law to put this into the treasury: it is blood-money.
N. So they discussed the matter and bought the potter’s field with it as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field is called the Field of Blood today. The words of the prophet Jeremiah were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by children of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.
Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put to him this question:
O. Are you the king of the Jews?
N. Jesus replied,
✠ It is you who say it.
N. But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him,
O. Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?
N. But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them,
O. Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?
N. For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message,
O. Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.
N. The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them,
O. Which of the two do you want me to release for you?
N. they said,
C. Barabbas.
N. Pilate said to them:
O. But in that case, what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?
N. They all said:
C. Let him be crucified!
N. Pilate asked:
O. Why? What harm has he done?
N. But they shouted all the louder,
C. Let him be crucified!
N. Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said,
O. I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.
N. And the people, to a man, shouted back,
C. His blood be on us and on our children!
N. Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying,
C. Hail, king of the Jews!
N. And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.
On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reached a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
C. So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son, come down from the cross!
N. The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, saying:
C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God.’
N. Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
✠ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
N. That is, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they said,
C. The man is calling on Elijah.
N. and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. The rest of them said:
C. Wait! See if Elijah will come to save him.
N. But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said,
C. In truth this was a son of God.
N. And many women were there, watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.
Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him,
C. Your Excellency, we recall that this impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I shall rise again.’ Therefore give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ This last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.
N. Pilate said to them:
O. You may have your guard. Go and make all as secure as you know how.
N. So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard.
COMMENTARY & REFLECTION
PALM Sunday of the Passion of the Lord is not just “Palm Sunday” (Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem), but also Passion Sunday (Suffering of Christ). It is what it says, the “… Sunday … Passion of the Lord”.
Today’s Feast takes us down quickly to the memorial lane of the events in Jesus’ life from His Entry to Jerusalem to the Institution of the Eucharist, Betrayal and Arrest, Judgement and Condemnation, Mockery and Torture, Crucifixion and Burial. It is the GATEWAY to Holy Week, to the Paschal Triduum, to the holiest days of the year.
In a sense, Easter, the crowning jewel of the Paschal festivities is reserved exclusively to Easter, particularly to its Vigil, also to its Sunday. The Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection, being the first day of the week, does not belong to Holy Week. It begins a new week, a new time of no time and space; it is the Eight Day that doesn’t exist in the week; it is the Entry to Eternity.
The stark contrast of joy and sorrow, between Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, is keenly felt and expressed immediately after the triumphant Procession
Let’s go back to today. All the readings, from the gospel on Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem to the full account of the Passion from Matthew give us a summary Preview of the Lord’s Passion, and in this way initiate us into Holy Week.
The triumph of Christ, King of Life is anticipated and celebrated today unhindered by the certainty of the tragedy of Holy Thursday night nor the darkness of day on Good Friday afternoon.
The believers on Palm Sunday know that death is all but vanquished. It is only right and just to cry Hosanna, He comes, He reigns in God’s name! It is a triumphant clamour the disciples of Jesus make knowing and accepting that it is paid dearly by defeat, suffering and death. He is King, our King Crucified! Hosanna in the highest!!!
Palm Sunday is, therefore, intended to give the fullest display of zealous reception and joyful witness to the humble King who comes to us riding on an ass. That’s why the Procession.
Traditionally, today after Mass the people are supposed to go out, celebrate in whatever way and tell others how proud they are to have a Messiah King who suffered and died for them. It is the last feasting before the veil is dropped down on Monday in Holy Week until the tomb would burst open with Life.
Satan had the last laugh. But it would be his last indeed. Nature violently protested; the earth quaked.
I still remember so happily how the Carmelite nuns in KK, who had been fasting severely all Lent, would give us fantastic homemade cakes to share their joy of having the Crucified King on Palm Sunday. Imagine, cakes from the frugal Carmelites! But it’s Palm Sunday!
However, today is also Passion Sunday.
With pride people join us when we win; in shame they abandon us when we lose. Today we bear witness to God and to each other: We will acclaim Christ as King, come what may, and will accompany Him all the way to the end. For that we need to be brave, for it concerns our own defeat and annihilation with Him.
The stark contrast of joy and sorrow, between Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, is keenly felt and expressed immediately after the triumphant Procession, after a pause in silence, in the solemn and grave Collect (Opening Prayer):
Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Saviour to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
The summary of our sincere prayer for the whole of Holy Week and Triduum is:
- to follow the Saviour in humility,
- in patient suffering,
- in submitting to the Cross,
- so as to have a share in His Resurrection.
Let us mean and desire what we ask, and keep this desire ringing deep in our heart throughout the Week. Humility, patient suffering, submission to the Cross, are not just words but will take very concrete and painful shapes in the trials of our daily life this Holy Week and throughout our whole life.
But no Cross, no Resurrection.
Today, we hail the King who comes to suffer, to die, and to rise!
The Scripture Readings during Mass
The example of the humble, patiently suffering Christ who submits to the Cross is clearly and hauntingly described in the First, Second, and the Passion Readings. They make Passion Sunday indeed!
Christ is the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 50:4-7. He is the true Disciple because He listens (and obeys). And because He has listened and learned, He has a tongue capable of giving (assuring/consoling) speech and words to those who are also tested and tried.
Because He has truly listened and submitted with honour to God’s will, he does not turn away or offer resistance to the unjust insults, beatings. He confidently, even proudly, holds up His head and remains unashamed. This is the Christ we must know and be proud of this Passion Sunday.
In Philippians 2:6-11, St. Paul speaks of the utter humility of Christ. He was divine, but did not claim His equality with God the Most High. Taking human form, He was humbler than all humans for though He was innocent He submitted to death, death of the most shameful kind, death on the Cross. And because he descended into the deepest humility, He is now raised above all and given a name above all names. Jesus is LORD!!! Because He is the humblest.
The Passion according to St. Matthew
The Passion of Christ begins with the perfidy of Judas Iscariot, the treasurer in Jesus’ own household, all for greed of money. He identified and betrayed Jesus to His enemies with a kiss.
Even after having received the blood money, he still went on to eat the Passover meal with Jesus and the other apostles, and had the audacity to tell Jesus at table that he wasn’t the traitor: “Not I, surely”? When he later realized that Jesus was going to be killed, he got deeply guilty and remorseful. But he was too cowardly to turn back to the Lord. For pride he hanged himself. Today, with so many cowards who dare not give themselves humbly to others, suicide seems to have become more and more a brave and glamorous act.
On that same night He was betrayed, Jesus instituted the Eucharist. This is my Body…This is my Blood… Not only did He sacrifice and give His life for us. In His inestimable love, He instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, so that until He comes again, He is always and truly present among His people not just in a general way, but in His supreme act of loving us on the Cross. Body…given up for you; Blood poured out for you.
Despite his loud boasting on loyalty, Peter betrayed his Master three times as foretold by the Master. The shame of betrayal was broadcasted and driven home by three cockcrows. But he turned out a brave man. He did not commit suicide. He dared to repent, and on him the Lord built His Church.
The prayer and agony in the garden. Jesus prayed all His life in silence and in tears, but this was His most agonizing prayer. He had to choose to die. But this agony and prayer concluded exactly like all His other prayers, even His last on the cross: “Let it be as you, not I, would have it!”
All through the one hour of Jesus’ agony and prayer, His three best friends slept, oblivious even to the real danger to their life on that fateful night of the arrest.
The arrest. The ruthless pronouncement of Caiaphas the High Priest comes true: “It is better for one man to die for the nation”. Jesus had the power over those who came to arrest him, but He submitted to the ‘Hour’. Even as He was taken away, He had only one concern: His friends. “Let these others go!” They raced away; they deserted him!
Jesus before the priests and Sanhedrin. Condemned to death for blasphemy, Jesus was mocked, beaten and tortured.
Jesus before Pontius Pilate. The Governor, the only man in Palestine who had the legal power to pronounce life or death, lost all integrity, became powerless for fear and political expediency. He not only granted the Jews’ cry for Jesus’ death, but gave in to their demand for the most shameful form of execution, death by crucifixion. Crucify him, Crucify him!!!
For a murderer, Pilate gave away an innocent man to shame and death. He got so low as to publicly wash his hands of the crime: a public confession of his powerlessness. A lot to think about for those of us in power and authority!
With Jesus condemned legally to death by crucifixion, the Jews could now take their sweet revenge on Him to the full. The spitting, slapping, beating, the mockery and torture.
When they had enough, they made Him carry the instrument of His own shameful death to Calvary, the peak on which would be fought the last war between good and evil. Even there as the greatest war was being fought, the jeering continued.
Nailed stark naked to the cross and raised up for the world to see, Jesus suffered the extreme. Physical pain was small compared to the excruciation of the greatest injustice ever forced upon a human person.
He suffered the sense of betrayal; He suffered the temptation to self-pity; He suffered to have to do good for evil, for His enemies, sinners, the underserving.
Above all, He suffered in the desperate struggle to trust His Father to the end when in all appearances He was totally abandoned. In His last breath, with a loud cry, He yielded His spirit in utter obedience to the Father. The sacrifice of the innocent Lamb is complete.
Satan had the last laugh. But it would be his last indeed. Nature violently protested; the earth quaked. Many holy men who had been dead were shocked to life and seen by many. The veil of the temple dividing God the Holy and man the sinful was torn from top to bottom.
In the meantime, the men were nowhere to be found. The women were there at Calvary.
It was a rushed burial for it was Preparation Day and Sabbath was at hand when no work was allowed. With no ceremony the Body of God Incarnate was buried in a borrowed tomb.
We conclude Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord by taking part in the Sacrifice of Christ, eat at the Supper of the Lamb. This year not actually, but spiritually.
St Simon Catholic Church Likas 