Palm and Passion Sunday (B)

 

Palm/Passion Sunday (B)

[Mk 11:1-10] + [Mk 14:1-15:47]

24.03.2024

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem, His Passion and Ignominious Death

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

1. Theme in brief:

Our life’s triumph and passion

2.  Focus Statement

Like Jesus, we too have our moments of glory and moments of suffering which include loneliness, abandonment, betrayal, humiliation and death.

3.  Explanation of the text

Here are some of the salient features of Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion in which we can very well identify our own human condition as well as the condition of so many other people in the world:

Ø  Jesus’ mental agony as he prays at Gethsemane during which he feels mentally broken and agitated with sorrow even to death with the thought of all the suffering and public humiliation he will have to undergo (14:32-34);

Ø  his obedient submission to God’s will that he suffer and die (14:36), while his disciples fail to comfort him as they  fall asleep (14:37);

Ø  his betrayal by one of his own disciples, Judas, with a kiss, out of greed for money (14:44-46);

Ø  the dramatic as well as pathetic denial by Peter that he ever knew Jesus by cursing and swearing an oath (14:71) as he comes under the pressure of a servant-girl and bystanders  (14:69-70);  

Ø  his desertion by all his own disciples  as they fled at the time of crisis (14:50-52);

Ø  Pilate’s decision to order his crucifixion under pressure from the crowd and his desire to satisfy the crowd or to please the Jewish authorities, though he knows that Jesus is innocent or not guilty of  any criminal charges levelled against him by the Jewish authorities (15:6-15);

Ø  humiliation and insults done to Jesus by stripping his clothes and giving him a mock cloak, crown of thorns, saluting him as a mock king, spitting on him, striking him on the head with a reed and crucifying him in the midst of two bandits (15:16-20,27);

Ø  ridicule and insults by passers-by, chief priests and scribes who challenge him to come down from the cross and save himself so that they may believe he is the Messiah (15:29-32).

Ø  his feelings of being forsaken not only by all near and dear ones but even by God himself (15:34) and his sacrificial death with a loud cry (15:37).

Mark emphasises the fact that Jesus who is crucified in between two criminals and dying in total abandonment by all, including God, reveals the true meaning of his mission as Messiah and King (14:61-62; 15:2, 21-37). The manner in which he dies leads even the Roman centurion to confess that Jesus on the cross is indeed the Son of God (15:39).

4.  Application to life

Today’s two-in-one liturgy presents to us two contradictory aspects of our lives: (1) joys and triumph; (2) sorrows and pain. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem celebrated in the first part of the liturgy outside the church deals with the first aspect of our life; and his agonizing passion celebrated in the second part inside the church deals with the second aspect. The two gospel readings – about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the first part (11:1-10) and about his agonizing passion in the second (14:1 – 15:47) are two sides of the same ‘coin’ (of our life). That is why the Church names this day as Palm Sunday as well as Passion Sunday. We have our own ‘Palm Sundays’ and ‘Passion Sundays’: Like Jesus we too have our moments of triumph and victory (that he experienced during his triumphal victory procession on the way to Jerusalem) and agony in the garden of Gethsemane and intensive suffering during his way of the cross. There are times when we rejoice; when we succeed in life and are elated; we are well settled in life; everything sails smoothly; the winds blow certainly in our favour; we get what we desire; our wishes are fulfilled; our jobs are secure; people love us to our heart’s content and our good health is our greatest wealth. There are also other joyful moments when people acclaim, applaud, praise, honour and support us. That is like people singing hosannas to us as they did to Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.

Then there is the other side of the coin – our moments of mental or physical agony and passion when we have to go through what Jesus went through in Jerusalem. Jesus bore all the suffering and evil which, we human beings are sometimes destined to undergo – betrayal and denial by our own family members and close friends, indifference of our neighbours and community members, mockery for upholding a moral principle, loneliness and lack of support, rejection by our dear ones, false accusation, unjust treatment, insults, humiliation, physical agony, mental torture and finally painful death. During Jesus’ solemn entry to Jerusalem, we observe people shouting ‘hosanna’ to him, but during his passion Jesus faces his agony in utter desolation as he is abandoned by his disciples in Gethsemane, betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and deserted by all the disciples as they flee (14:50). He even feels forsaken by his Father as he suffers torture and cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (15:34).

Among all the salient features of Mark’s passion narrative (mentioned above) this one stands out very strikingly: the absolute abandonment and utter desolation of Jesus during his suffering and death. Though abandonment is a common theme in all the Synoptic gospels, Mark alone writes that when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, all the disciples deserted him and fled (14:50), in spite of his fore-warning that all of them would become deserters like sheep getting scattered when the shepherded is struck (14:27). He alone mentions about “a certain young man” who ran off naked leaving the only piece of linen cloth with which he was covering his body when the soldiers caught him (14:51-52). Though we do not know who this young man was, what is clear is that he did not mind facing such an embarrassment and shame as well as humiliation of running away naked to save his own life and abandon Jesus to face his ordeal alone. Here we get a picture of the height of desertion or abandonment by someone close to us. It is probable this has happened to us in the past or may happen in future. We are to firmly believe that Jesus is with us when it happens and gives us the courage to face it.  

Who among us has not experienced any rejection, abandonment and loneliness (even in a small scale) either in one’s own life or noticed it in the life of others? Mother Teresa said: “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat…..Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.” We raise our minds in gratitude to Jesus for becoming one with us in our loneliness and rejection and continuing to be with us in these moments.

Look at the way Jesus became one with our human condition of abandonment and loneliness! In times of suffering and loneliness, we sometimes feel abandoned like him by our close friends, family members, and sometimes even by God himself. Abandonment by our own near and dear ones in times of calamity and crises; experiences of facing sorrow, pain, sickness, suffering and hardships alone; and feelings of God’s absence in times of suffering are the bitter pills that many of us have to swallow in life. We observe instances of married partners abandoning each other over their differences or in times of sickness and trials; children abandoning their parents in sickness and old age; friends hanging around us by singing ‘hosanna’ to us in fair weather but abandoning us when we face difficulties and troubles; the very person whom we helped so much joining the opposite camp/party instead of supporting us; priests finding nobody with whom they could share their problems whereas lay people share their problems with priests; the religious men and women feeling betrayed and humiliated by the same people whom they helped so much; etc. In all these situations, we have to look upon the crucified image of the One who was like us in all these conditions, and find strength and consolation from him. Let us meditate on the feelings and agony of the One who hangs alone on the cross, exposed to the mockery of the people whom he came to save.

As we sing hosanna to “the son of David” (Christ) with palm branches in our hands, we highly exalt his holy name “above every name” in heaven and on earth (Phil 2:9-10). He walks with us on our journey to ‘Jerusalem.’ In every respect he was tested as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15). That is why he becomes a source of eternal life for all who obey him (Heb 5:9). We have to realize that there are moments when we have been unfaithful and disobedient disciples. On the one hand we sing hosanna to Christ and sing “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (14:9) during the liturgical worship, but on the other hand ‘crucify’ him in real life by our conduct that is similar to various personalities in the passion narrative. For instance, by condemning the innocent like Pilate; denying Jesus by our evil ways; betraying him for personal gains and selfish purposes; deserting him by living a life of alienation from him and totally rejecting his teachings; etc. Our faith is severely tested in times of trials and suffering, especially when God does not rescue us from our problems, in spite of regular prayers and petitions (15:32).

Today’s procession by holding palm branches in our hands is a sign that we are willing to walk with Jesus in both his passion and in his triumph. Though the word ‘passion’ here refers to Jesus’ suffering, in English language it also means a strong feeling or commitment for something. Jesus had so much passion for life, truth, justice and service to the needy that he had to pay the price of his life for it during his suffering and shameful death. If we try to imitate the same passion which he had, it may lead us to the cross of opposition, criticism, insult, rejection, or even fear of losing our jobs, threat to life, etc. The question is whether we are willing to take up these crosses and walk with him to ‘Jerusalem,’ or evade them totally by taking a comfortable position. Jesus went knowingly to Jerusalem to suffer and die. What about us? Do we go where we know there will be suffering and crosses?

5.  Response to God's Word

How do we respond in faith to situations/experiences of abandonment, rejection, loneliness, desertion and desolation of our lives faced by Jesus during his passion? Do we respond to it positively or negatively; with faith or doubt in God’s goodness? Does Jesus’ powerful example and identification in every human condition become a source of grace and strength for us? Do we have a passion for life, truth, justice and service to the needy as Jesus had? Are we willing to take up the cross of opposition, criticism, insult, rejection and walk with him to ‘Jerusalem?’ Are we faithful to our divinely ordained mission as Jesus was, and are we ready to fulfil it till the end?

6.  A prayer

Blessed are you, Jesus, who come in the name of the Lord God. Hosanna to you. Though you were in the form of God, you did not cling to your heavenly position, but emptied to become one like us in every respect, including our loneliness, rejection, every suffering and death. Be a source of powerful example, grace and strength for us when we have to face what you faced in your passion. Amen.