Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion - Year C - His Passion, Our Passion & “Glory in the Cross”
This Sunday, we begin the week of weeks, Holy Week, by far the commemoration of the high points in the history of salvation: the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus – the Paschal Mystery.
We are invited and called to accompany Jesus on his solemn entry into Jerusalem where he will suffer, die and rise again. Yet, Palm Sunday is a day of contradictions. In the gospel of Luke (Lk. 22:14-56), Jesus is on this single, long journey that he started from the little village of Nazareth to the capital of the Jewish world – Jerusalem. Now he is almost there nearing his destiny. It is going to be a solemn entry, almost as if a King is about to enter to take possession of his capital. The procession begins at the Mount of Olives – the mount that is to be the stage for the ultimate Day of the Lord (according to Zechariah 14:3-4), the day of judgement. Perhaps the people have some insight into what is happening. They throw their cloaks on the road as a sign of their surrender to the king and they sing in acclamation. The lines they sing are partly borrowed from Psalm 118 (verse 26) that celebrates the kingship of the Lord.
But here is a contradiction: the Lord rides on a donkey, and not on a horse. The horse could indicate a military, violent entry. So he has purposefully chosen a donkey to make a humble entry. As the prophet Zechariah once again reminds us, “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).This tumultuous celebration is not going to last long. We know from history what is going to happen. Perhaps Jesus knows too: after all, he has made a choice to be the suffering servant. Today, he makes a solemn entry into the city.
Towards the end of this week, he will make a shameful exit to be hanged on a cross. Yet, that will not be his end. This week is going to be quite eventful for Jesus and for us too. Dear friends, let us live through these paradoxes during the coming week, together with Jesus. It is in living through the paradoxes that we have salvation. Let us feel as he felt. Let us think as he thought. Let us pray as he prayed. It is in being united with Jesus in his suffering, death, and resurrection that it becomes our own victory.
In honor of the start of Holy Week, we’d like to share our latest video, “Glory In The Cross” a beautiful hymn for Holy Week composed by Dan Schutte and sung by our choir with the verses composed for Holy Thursday.
Video can be watched by clicking here or on the picture below:
