Palm,/Passion Sunday (C)

                              Palm/Passion Sunday (C)

[(1) Lk 19:28-40 (2) Lk 22:14 – 23:56]

10.04.2022

Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem and His Passion and Death

Readings: (1) Is 50:4-7 (2) Phil 2:6-11

1.  Theme in brief

Compassion of Jesus in the midst of his Passion

2.  Focus Statement

We who acclaim Jesus with palm branches today are invited to imitate his healing, reconciling, comforting, forgiving and compassionate ministry towards sinners, women, Gentiles, enemies and outcasts even in the midst of his Passion.

3.  Explanation of the text

Luke’s account of Christ’s Passion is actually an account of his compassion towards women, sinners, Gentiles, enemies and outcasts even in the midst of his own mental agony and physical torture. We can notice the following special features found only in Luke’s Passion Narrative and not in any other evangelists’. He wants to highlight the fact that Jesus continues his deeds of mercy towards sinners and the marginalized people even when he undergoes unbearable agony during his passion, at the cost of his own personal suffering:

(1) In Gethsemane, Jesus undergoes an intense mental agony as he contemplates on the ordeal he is about to go through in Jerusalem, that is, his passion and crucifixion. Luke portrays him as the one who is mentally broken at the thought of such a horrible suffering and his sweat becomes “like great drops of blood” (22:44). While he undergoes his worst nightmare, his disciples are found sleeping (22:45-46) and only an angel of the Lord gives him strength and consolation (22:43).

(2) In spite of having heard Jesus’ prediction about his threefold denial and his assurance even to die for Jesus (22:31-34), Peter miserably fails under vulnerable situation. Before the cock crows, he denies Jesus three times (22:54-60). At that very moment, the Lord turns and looks at Peter (22:61). This heart-piercing but compassionate look makes him remember Jesus’ previous word of warning: “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times” (22:61). Christ's penetrating and compassionate gaze into his eyes brings about a change of heart in Peter!

(3) During his way of the cross, the women of Jerusalem are found weeping and wailing for Jesus, naturally at the horrible sight of his torture (23:27). Again, unmindful of his own suffering, he appeals them not to weep for him but for themselves and their children (23:28). Again, Jesus is portrayed here as the one who shows concern and compassion for the women and their future even as he suffers intensely.

(4) As Jesus is crucified in the middle of two hardened criminals who were also sentenced to death along with him (23:32), he gives the most touching example of praying for one’s worst enemies as he had taught earlier (Lk 6:28). Out of compassion for his crucifiers, he prays to the Father to forgive them because “they do not know what they are doing” (23:34). Actually speaking, they know what they are doing – that they are crucifying an innocent man (see explanation below); yet he makes an excuse for them, out of his boundless mercy.

(5) Among the two condemned criminals crucified along with him, the unrepentant criminal derides (mocks) Jesus challenging him to save himself and both of them (23:39). But the repentant criminal declares Jesus’ innocence while pleading himself and his companion guilty and deserving such a capital punishment (23:39-41). Then the latter pleads with Jesus in faith to remember him when he comes in his messianic kingdom (23:42). At this point, Jesus does his next compassionate act by offering the gift of salvation to the hardened but penitent criminal (23:43).

(6) Further, Jesus’ suffering leads to another compassionate work of mercy – reconciliation and friendship between two bitter enemies, namely Herod and Pilate (23:6-12). This happens when Pilate sends Jesus to Herod after coming to know that he is a Galilean – a territory under Herod. Though Herod sends him back to Pilate as he finds no crime committed by him, the very fact that Pilate recognizes Herod’s jurisdiction over Jesus, brings about a rapprochement between the two.

(7) Jesus dies as an innocent martyr. Luke emphasizes his total innocence and undeserving nature of capital punishment given to him by reporting such a declaration thrice by Pilate (in 23:4, 14, 22), and by Herod (23:15), the repentant criminal (23:41) and the centurion standing guard at the foot of the cross (23:47).

4.   Application to life

The Church celebrates today a two-in-one liturgy, calling it both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. The two gospel readings according to Luke proclaimed in today’s liturgy – the first one about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the first part (19:28-40) and the second one about his agonizing passion in the second part of the liturgy (22:14 – 23:56) – represent two contradictory aspects of our lives: joys and triumph, sorrows and pain. We have our own ‘Palm Sundays’ of triumph and victory as Jesus had his during his triumphal victory procession on the way to Jerusalem, and our own ‘Passion Sundays’ of mental/ physical suffering or agony as Jesus had his during his trial, way of the cross, crucifixion and agonizing death. There are times when people acclaim, applaud, support and praise us for our “deeds of power” as they did to Jesus (19:37). Then there is the other side of the coin – our moments of mental or physical agony and passion when we go through what Jesus went through – betrayal, denial, indifference, mockery, loneliness, rejection, false accusation, unjust treatment, insults, shameful humiliation, carrying of cross, mental agony, physical torture and  sometimes even ‘crucifixion’. During Jesus’ solemn entry to Jerusalem, we observe people shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” (19:38), but during his passion we observe how they shout slogans like “Crucify him, crucify him” (23:21).

In today’s Passion Narrative, Luke portrays a Compassionate Saviour who does not focus on himself even at his trial, suffering and crucifixion. Instead, he is found to be highly concerned about others’ problems, about saving them at their moment of trial. First of all, in his mental agony in the garden of Gethsemane, he identifies himself with those who undergo mental agony and traumatic experience in their life such as mental torture inflicted by one’s own dear ones in families; intimidation by one’s enemies or tormentors; mental pressure exercised by the authorities in workplaces; ragging practiced in some institutions by the seniors on their juniors; tension created by incompatibility/disharmony between the spouses; the trauma caused to parents by their wayward or crime-prone children; and the trauma of child abuses or rape. We need to firmly believe that in our nightmare generated by these circumstances, Jesus walks with us comforting and strengthening us to face our ordeal.  

Like Peter, even though we deny Jesus again and again by going against his gospel-values and by blindly copying the standards of the world, he always turns towards and looks at us with his compassionate gaze. It is this heart-piercing glance of boundless mercy that can melt the hardness of our hearts and reconsider the wrong choices we make in our daily life. We deny Christ not only by committing sins against love, justice and fraternity but also by omitting to do, as Christ’s disciples, the deeds of mercy which he did even in the midst of his agony such as caring for and showing compassion for the neglected, the downtrodden, the less fortunate, sinners and enemies.

Jesus’ appeal to the women of Jerusalem not to weep for him is also an appeal to us not to become too sentimental and emotional by focussing on his physical suffering (especially during the Way of the Cross or Passion Plays) without doing anything at all to reform our and others’ lives. It is pointless to weep for Jesus since, as the resurrected Lord, he cannot suffer any more. Actually we should weep for the times we allowed evil to rule over our lives or colluded with it and did nothing to prevent its spread; weep for the disoriented lives of our children; and weep for all the injustice, corruption, hate campaign, child sexual abuses, torturing of innocent people, crimes against humanity, etc., in our world today. We need to weep for the situation where children in families are considered to be burdensome, inconvenient and expensive against the desire for more comforts and personal freedom. We must weep also for the ‘culture of death’ and the ‘culture of violence and crime’ that is channelled through sections of irresponsible mass media spoiling the tender minds of children; etc.

No doubt, Jesus’ moving act of forgiveness of his crucifiers/ enemies from the cross has motivated so many of our Christian brothers and sisters to offer an unconditional pardon to their enemies throughout the ages. In recent years, in India we have shining examples of two women who have given a striking witness to forgiveness of one’s worst enemies. Mrs. Gladys Stains, publicly forgave the killers of her missionary husband and two sons in the State of Odisha as she stood in front of three coffins; and the younger sister of Sr. Rani Maria publicly demonstrated the compassionate act of mercy towards the murderer of her elder sister in the State of Madhya Pradesh by tying a Rakhi on his hand. [Rakhi is an armband tied to the hand of brothers by their sisters as a sign of special affection and mutual protection on a feast day of the same name.] If these two women could bear such a powerful witness in the midst of such a great tragedy for them, why should we still hold to smaller hurts caused by our family members/ neighbours/ opponents/ critics? Is it possible to show compassion towards our enemies by making excuse for their misdeeds/crimes by saying that they did not know what they were doing? Is it possible to pray for such people admitting our ignorance of the real motives/ background/ circumstances of their crimes or misbehaviour? Humanly speaking it is not possible but with God everything is possible. Our regular and repeated prayer for them will surely reduce the intensity of our anger/ hatred/ revenge towards them day by day.

Even in the midst of excruciating suffering, Jesus continued his ministry of seeking out the lost and saving them. From the cross he reached out to a repentant criminal (sinner) with his gifts of pardon and salvation (= paradise, 23:43). Thus, he gives us a moving example of winning over the hardness of the hearts of hardest sinners with our mercy and pardon. The repentant criminal becomes the model of those who accept the offer of pardon and salvation which Christ offers, and the hardened criminal represents people who reject his offer of salvation till the end of their lives. With a simple faith, acknowledging our sinfulness we must cry out to the Lord: “What about me, Lord? Please remember me also when you come into your Kingdom!” The infinite compassion of Christ flowing from the cross can melt the hearts of even hardened sinners leading them to repentance.

When we think of the innocence of Jesus as asserted by Pilate thrice, by Herod, by the repentant criminal and the centurion, a question arises in our minds, “Why should an innocent and holy person die in this manner? Did he deserve this type of torture and humiliation?” The same question arises when we see so many innocent people brutally murdered, bombed, kidnapped and tortured all over the world. When we look at the live T.V. footage of police and military excesses, fake encounters, shooting of unarmed demonstrators fighting for their rights, etc., we ask, “Do they deserve this?” We see the face of the crucified Lord there. This also makes us examine our conscience and see whether we cause suffering to any innocent/ powerless/ voiceless person.

We, who acclaim Christ as our King during the procession with palm branches, are challenged whether we are willing to live by his compassionate love, forgiveness and reconciliation even at the cost of personal inconveniences and sacrifice.

5. Response to God's Word

Are we directly or indirectly responsible to the disoriented lives of our children and for the injustice, corruption, hate campaign, crimes against humanity, etc., in our world today? If Jesus and some exemplary Christians among us could forgive the worst of their enemies, why should we hold on to old grudges against the lesser offenses committed by our neighbours? Have we caused any pain and suffering to the innocent people? When we hear reports about a high rate of child abuse cases even within the confines of families, do we see there the face of innocent Jesus unjustly crucified? What is our reaction when we see people who are made to suffer unjustly and inhumanly? Does Christ dying on the cross as an innocent martyr say anything to us?

6.  A Prayer

O Crucified Lord, today we repent for the times we allowed evil to rule over our lives or colluded with it and did nothing to prevent its spread.  We weep for the disoriented lives of our children; and for all the injustice, corruption, hate campaign, crimes against humanity around us, and ask the courage of your Spirit to prevent its spread. Give us a spirit of reconciliation so that we do not hold on to old grudges against our neighbours. Grant that we may never cause suffering to the innocent. May we be inspired by your example of compassion towards sinners, enemies and the underprivileged even at the cost of personal inconveniences and sacrifices. Amen.