The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Passion Sunday, challenge us to proclaim Hosanna (“Yahweh save us”) with the crowd and be open to the movement of the Spirit to reveal compassion and love in Jesus' Passion.
Mark 11.1-10 is the Gospel for Blessing: Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
* [11:1–11] In Mark’s account Jesus takes the initiative in ordering the preparation for his entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1–6) even as he later orders the preparation of his last Passover supper (Mk 14:12–16). In Mk 11:9–10 the greeting Jesus receives stops short of proclaiming him Messiah. He is greeted rather as the prophet of the coming messianic kingdom. Contrast Mt 21:9. (Mark, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)
John 12.12-16; is an alternate Gospel for Blessing: Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
* [12:12–19] In John, the entry into Jerusalem follows the anointing whereas in the synoptics it precedes. In John, the crowd, not the disciples, are responsible for the triumphal procession.
* [12:13] Palm branches: used to welcome great conquerors; cf. 1 Mc 13:51; 2 Mc 10:7. They may be related to the lûlāb, the twig bundles used at the feast of Tabernacles. Hosanna: see Ps 118:25–26. The Hebrew word means: “(O Lord), grant salvation.” He who comes in the name of the Lord: referred in Ps 118:26 to a pilgrim entering the temple gates, but here a title for Jesus (see notes on Mt 11:3 and Jn 6:14; 11:27). The king of Israel: perhaps from Zep 3:14–15 in connection with the next quotation from Zec 9:9. (John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant’s Humiliation and Vindication.
* [50:4–11] The third of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:1–4); in vv. 4–9 the servant speaks; in vv. 10–11 God addresses the people directly.
* [50:5] The servant, like a well-trained disciple, does not refuse the divine vocation.
* [50:6] He willingly submits to insults and beatings. Tore out my beard: a grave and painful insult. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 50 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 22 is a plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility.
* [Psalm 22] A lament unusual in structure and in intensity of feeling. The psalmist’s present distress is contrasted with God’s past mercy in Ps 22:2–12. In Ps 22:13–22 enemies surround the psalmist. The last third is an invitation to praise God (Ps 22:23–27), becoming a universal chorus of praise (Ps 22:28–31). The Psalm is important in the New Testament. Its opening words occur on the lips of the crucified Jesus (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46), and several other verses are quoted, or at least alluded to, in the accounts of Jesus’ passion (Mt 27:35, 43; Jn 19:24). (Psalms, PSALM 22 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians is a Plea, in a hymn, for Unity and Humility.
* [2:6–11] Perhaps an early Christian hymn quoted here by Paul. The short rhythmic lines fall into two parts, Phil 2:6–8 where the subject of every verb is Christ, and Phil 2:9–11 where the subject is God. The general pattern is thus of Christ’s humiliation and then exaltation. More precise analyses propose a division into six three-line stanzas (Phil 2:6; 7abc, 7d–8, 9, 10, 11) or into three stanzas (Phil 2:6–7ab, 7cd–8, 9–11). Phrases such as even death on a cross (Phil 2:8c) are considered by some to be additions (by Paul) to the hymn, as are Phil 2:10c, 11c. (Philippians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Passion in the Gospel of Mark relates the plot to kill Jesus through to the burial of Jesus.
* [14:1–16:8] In the movement of Mark’s gospel the cross is depicted as Jesus’ way to glory in accordance with the divine will. Thus the passion narrative is seen as the climax of Jesus’ ministry. (Mark, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)
* [15:39] The closing portion of Mark’s gospel returns to the theme of its beginning in the Gentile centurion’s climactic declaration of belief that Jesus was the Son of God. It indicates the fulfillment of the good news announced in the prologue (Mk 1:1) and may be regarded as the firstfruit of the passion and death of Jesus. (Mark, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)
Maureen McCann Waldron comments that the core of our own entry into the Passion is not about us but about the vulnerability we open ourselves to when we enter into the suffering of others.
We might be painfully aware of our own shortcomings, no matter how much we ignore them. We know of our own impatience, our anger, and our lack of compassion for our spouse or children. As we look around us in the world, it might seem too barbaric and painful to watch or read news stories about the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world. Too often, when we can do nothing to alleviate their pain, we simply focus on our own. We duck our heads into alcohol, drugs, anger, righteousness and being judgmental of others.
Yet, the more deeply I can be with Jesus in his suffering, watching his humiliation, being beaten, spit upon , whipped and mocked, the more I can feel the depth of his love for me. He suffers with me in all of my pain and he asks me to enter into the suffering of others.
If the suffering of others only annoys me, I can’t enter into it. If I can’t have com-passion and suffer with those around me who are in pain -- my family, my community, my world -- then I can’t really feel the love Jesus had for me when he died for me. (McCann Waldron, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The following of Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Come, follow Me, says the Lord. Do you love? He has hastened on, He has flown on ahead. Look and see where. O Christian, don't you know where your Lord has gone? I ask you: Don't you wish to follow Him there? Through trials, insults, the cross, and death. Why do you hesitate? Look, the way has been shown you." (excerpt from Sermon 64,5) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 11:1-10 comments that Jesus is not put off by our fickleness. That’s good news! Because if we’re honest, we can all recognize times when our own commitment to the Lord and our love for him has wavered. When life is going well, it’s not so hard to praise him. But it can be another story altogether when danger threatens or sadness darkens our outlook.
So allow these passages to motivate you to pay attention to this final week in Christ’s life. Acknowledge the inconstancy of your own love for Jesus and ask him to strengthen you. But don’t stop there! Open your heart to the liberating truth that Jesus loves you even when you stray. Look at the cross and believe that he held you close to his heart throughout his passion, death, and resurrection.
May the Lord pour out graces on us all during this most holy week of the year!
“Lord, prepare me to receive you more deeply as I prepare for the feast of your resurrection!” (Meditation on Mark 11:1-10, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler highlights the meaning of many of the proclamations about Jesus that occur in the Gospel passages, Hebrew Testament of Isaiah, and the Christological hymn quoted by Paul in Philippians. Details in the Passion of Mark compared to the other Gospels shed light the type of message the evangelist is portraying about Jesus. Friar Jude notes the affinity of Psalm 22 to the suffering of Christ. Friar Jude reminds us of the surprising declaration of the Roman Centurion and the dangerous attention of Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, to the burial of Jesus.
As Holy Week begins, Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on how quickly we tend to transmit our pain to others. Scapegoating, or the creating of victims, is in our hard wiring. Philosopher René Girard called “the scapegoat mechanism” the central pattern for the creation and maintenance of cultures worldwide since the beginning. Therapist Matthias Roberts describes how Jesus defied the scapegoating pattern.
Jesus walked willingly into a human world defined—as it still is today—by violence and dependence on scapegoats…. He was murdered not because God wanted or needed his sacrificial death but because as humans, when the stakes are high, we determine who is in and who is out through violence and death.
But Jesus … broke the system because what was supposed to happen didn’t.
The scapegoat didn’t stay dead. And the victors, in this case, didn’t get to write the only version of the story.
The scapegoat came back to life and told a different story, a truer story, a story about life and love. And through his story, Jesus revealed our ideas about God had been wrong all along.
God and Jesus are nothing like the violent and vengeful world we live in. [3] (Rohr, n.d.)
We begin Holy Week pondering the contradictions and contrasts of Jesus’ Passion that define compassion and love and set the aims of our mission as disciples of Christ.
References
Isaiah, CHAPTER 50 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/50?4
John, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/12?
Mark, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/11?1
Mark, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/14?1
Mark, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/15
McCann Waldron, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032424.html
Meditation on Mark 11:1-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/03/24/919250/
Philippians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/philippians/2?6
Psalms, PSALM 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/22?8
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Painful Pattern. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-painful-pattern/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Blessed Is the King Who Comes in the Name of the Lord. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=mar24
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