Palms, Psalms and the Passion
March 24, 2024: Palm Sunday
Mark 11: 1-10; Isaiah 50: 4-7;
Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14:1 - 15:47
The
first phase of the Lenten journey this year is over, and we enter into the Holy
Week, the concluding week that reminds us of so many intense happenings within
the Christ-event that have defined our faith, our experience with God and our
very identity as disciples of the Crucified and Risen Lord. The entry point is
the Palm Sunday - literally the entry point, as we commemorate Jesus' entry
into Jerusalem. There are three things that mark this day and that would mark
the developments during the week too: the palms, the psalms and the passion!
The Palms: the celebration
mode!
It was celebration time when Jesus
entered Jerusalem. They celebrated, they sang and danced around him, they
raised slogans and cheered for him! They were so enthusiastic about his coming.
Blessed is he who comes they shouted! They saw in Jesus, a messiah, a
liberator, a leader, a king, someone who is going to change their lives!
Yes, Jesus was all that! He was the
messiah promised; he was the liberator, the redeemer; he was the leader, the
shepherd come to gather the flock together; he was the king, the king of all
kings, who comes to set up the Reign of God; someone who was destined to change
their lives, not just their's, but the whole humanity's. Their enthusiasm was
real, it was true but the question is, was it the right type of enthusiasm
needed. The litmus test of an enthusiasm is, how long it endures!
They would soon scatter and go their
way; they would soon get tired of Jesus because he was not living up to their
expectations... he was not the messiah of the type that they expected; he was
not the liberator of the warring type that they wanted; he was not the king that
they wanted to take on the Romans; yes, he was challenging to change their
lives, but they were not ready for the type of changes that he was proposing!
They wanted it all, their way!
In our lives too… when Jesus enters,
we are all enthusiastic. The question is, how long? Soon we lose the initial
enthusiasm, the fervour of the new-found experience dies within a while to give
rise to boredom and seeking of other experiences. The palms that we hold today
tell us: I will dry very soon...will your enthusiasm too wither so?
The Psalms: the cry of
praise!
Blessed is the one who comes, they
shouted - that was not any slogan; that was Scripture! They were singing
psalms. This will repeat itself this week very many times - in the pasch
festival that they were gathered for, they would be singing and reciting
psalms; the disciples and Jesus would sing psalms; Jesus would repeat verses
and the high priests will quote phrases... this week there will be so much of
the psalms and the sacred scriptures quoted and cited.
They sang songs, they chanted the
psalms and recited the prayers... so regularly and so diligently. But was it
making any change in their lives? Were they attentive to the Word who was so
alive amidst them and calling them to change and new life? Were they really
mindful of what God was working out right in front of their eyes: their own
salvation, in the blood of the Lamb! They were too busy with their fixed ideas
and ritual performances. They cared nothing for what Jesus was calling
attention to.
Praying is an attitude that we are
called to - not merely parading our theology or memory skills or the capacity
to make a show of our piety. We are called to an attitude of prayer, an
attitude of living our daily lives attentive to the voice of the Lord, the Word
of the Lord. It sets the tone for the whole holy week - telling us, this week try
to remain with the Word, meditate the Word, ruminate on all that the Word made
flesh went through for your sake.
The invitation is about an attitude required
of us, to spend more time with the Word this week - reading, reflecting,
listening, encountering, dialoguing, sharing and opening our hearts to the Word
and allowing the Word to touch our very beings. All that we did, or at least
tried to do during the Lent, they can be brought into the presence of the Word
and made sense of, asking the Word of God to throw light on the meaning and
call that we have for our lives.
The Passion: preparing for
the Sacrifice!
This Sunday is also called, the
Passion Sunday! Not only because the Passion narrative of the Lord that is read
during the Mass, but because the passion, death and resurrection, the
culminating episode of the Christ-event, was beginning this day. As Jesus
entered Jerusalem, there was a new episode beginning... it looked all
celebration and fun, but it was ultimately going to be a sacrifice, a
covenantal sacrifice, that would change everything that ever was and everything
that would ever be!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord, the crowd said. Hosanna, they acclaimed. But would soon denounce him
and crucify him. Jesus knew it... he knew what is there in store! It was not
difficult for him to know it... for all the convictions that he had, for all
the teaching about the Reign that he imparted, for all the values that he lived
for, for all the critique of the self-righteousness and senseless pride that he
made... he knew what would be the result! But he did not hesitate.
When he realised that his death was
near, he said to those who were around him - I know the hour has come, so what
do I do? Should I ask the Father to remove this cup from me? No, it is for this
I came. Look at that clarity! That was the commitment and dedication that Jesus
had for the will of God, towards making present the Reign of God here and now.
He was ready for anything. He was prepared for the passion. He was looking
square at the face of suffering and death, at the Sacrifice that he has to
offer!
The call is clear, and it is going to
repeat itself all through this week. Are we ready to suffer? How much suffering
are we ready to take up? How prepared are we for sacrifices, for the sake of
the will of God and the Reign of God? We have this whole week to answer those
questions.
Blessed is he who comes... yes! But are we ready to accept the challenge that he brings?