Fickle and fearful become servants

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion establish a focus to begin our involvement with Holy Week.

In Chapter 11 of the Gospel of Mark the authority and reception of Jesus resonate with the idea of the Davidic Messiah, yet the symbols of servant self giving are already in place.

* [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.

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes the attributes of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh.

* [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.

In the early Christian Hymn from Chapter 2 of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, the self emptying of Jesus is proposed as a model for His disciples.

* [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.

The Passion of the Lord from the Gospel of Mark provides the detail to complete the declaration in the prologue of this Gospel of Jesus Divine identity as Son of God.

* [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.

Tom Shanahan, S.J., suggests that Lent provides us the possibility of a spiritual preparation to live into Jesus' death and resurrection, the paschal mystery.

We have been invited to journey with Jesus in his journeying for us.  These past few weeks may have provided us the opportunity to discover anew the tremendous love of God in Christ.  Our own call begins with the discovery of the roots of our brand of selfishness. Jesus' faithfulness to his call and journey becomes for us the way of moving away from the things that block God's love in Christ Jesus.

Dennis Bratcher develops the teaching of Paul, that discipleship with Christ means to have a mind-set different from others. It means a commitment to servanthood, a life poured out in service to others, totally emptied of self. He cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who poured out his own life at the hands of the Nazis.

We live in a society dominated by rights-activism, permeated with the philosophy of "me first," and molded by the corporate ideals of efficiency and success. The Church must be called to remember that demanding one's rights and privileges may be popular, even necessary in some cases, but if it does so at the expense of Christian unity and love, it is not Christian! The Body of Christ must be called upon to refocus on Christian humility, unity, and fellowship. We must make service to others, perfect love in action, our primary responsibility. An attitude of Christlike humility does not demand rights or protect its own interests; it seeks servanthood.

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., on the following of Christ.

"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)

Friar Jude Winkler builds on the message that Jesus exaltation is when He is most humble, as he shares the many deep connections in these texts to our Christian heritage and tradition.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that life gives us opportunities to discover our image and develop our likeness, often in the form of necessary stumbling and falling.

Challenges and disruptions invite us to move from what I call the first half of life to the second half, from forming and serving the ego to the ego, in fact, serving the soul. With the guidance of the Spirit and the help of wise mentors and elders, all of life, including our “false” or small and separate self, can lead us to our True Self or “who we are hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Adapted from Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (Jossey-Bass: 2011), 153-154.

The nature of Jesus message to call us to full life in our participation in the suffering and triumphs of service to others and communion with Him is our contemplation in the initial days of Holy Week. References

(

n.d.). Mark, chapter 11 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/11

(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 50 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Isaiah/50:4

(n.d.). Philippians, chapter 2 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Philippians/2:6

(n.d.). Mark, chapter 15 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/15

(n.d.). Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html

(2013, March 25). The Poured-Out Life: The Kenosis Hymn in Context. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.crivoice.org/kenosis.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/