The Journey of His Passion: From Jerusalem to Calvary!

(Homily Palm Sunday Year C)

     Today marks the beginning of the Holy Week or the “Great Week”, which will be crowned with the Pasqual Triduum, the culminating point of the whole liturgical year. In this WEEK, the Church celebrates in her Liturgy the great mysteries of her redemption (Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord). In the Holy Week God gives us an appointment of an existential and salvific REALITY-SHOW of the ‘Man’ on the Cross. The Cross, therefore, is at the center of this week, but not just as an ordinary instrument, but because of the ‘Man’ on it, who made it a sublime and salvific image. As such, we are called to ‘re-live’ with faith and love these events of our Salvation. In our Eucharistic celebration, we read the passion of the Lord, but prior to that, we celebrated his entrance into Jerusalem (His Triumphant entry), in the midst of acclamations by the people, the shouts of Hosanna that decorously accompanied Jesus, and the road that was decorated with palm fronts. In his triumphant entry we could imagine the presence of people of different calibers, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, all full of expectations, and yet they were not too sure of what was happening, they were pushing and pulling all around him, singing and dancing, shouting and ululating: “Hossana! Glory to God, hail the King, Son of God, Son of David, Alleluia”. On the other hand, there were also the scribes, friends and opponents who understood better than others where all this would lead to.

     The disciples and the crowd proclaimed Jesus King and he was accompanied majestically, they hailed him as King who comes in the name of the Lord. They hailed Him with Hosanna, because in Jesus’ public ministry, he healed their sick, fed the hungry and performed so many miracles. These wonders he wrought in their midst aroused in them the desire to crown Him King, but afterwards the whole game changed from shouts of acclamation to shouts of elimination. Who would have imagined that the crowd which welcomed Jesus with such excitement and enthusiasm during his entrance into Jerusalem would turn against him with such hostility, as to demand for his elimination and death, from the ululation of Hossana to the demand of his crucifixion. It is now obvious that those shouts and ululations of Hossana were superficial.

     The readings of today unify two events: the commemoration of the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and the “reality-show” of the Passion of Christ. The first event was remembered with the rite of entrance through the procession with palm fronts; with the proclamation of the Gospel about the entrance of Jesus in the Holy City. And the second event auspicates the reality of Jesus’ Passion. The essence of our reflection and of the events we are celebrating today is not as a result of the desire to remember just the past, but rather to render present today the Event of Christ through and in the liturgical celebration and in our lives. Hence, we are called to enter with Jesus into the drama of his Passion.

     In the first reading (Is. 50:4-7) we see what could be termed the prophecy of Jesus’ Passion: “For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover my face against insult and spite” (Is. 50, 5-6). By means of this prophetic passage we are called to reflect on the third Song of the Servant of Yahweh, which serves as a prefiguration of the sufferings of the future Messiah. In this period, it is presupposed that the Israelites were still in exile, and as such were rejecting the prophecies of Isaiah. They were weary and fed up with his constant predictions of deliverance despite the fact that the exilic experience continues. However, the prophet was not discouraged, even when it causes him suffering, he had confidence in God. Even the responsorial Psalm prefigures the Passion of Jesus, in the following words, “All who see me deride me. They curl their lips, they toss their heads” (Ps. 22:7).

     The second reading (Phil. 2:6-11) presents the hymn of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, which in no small way illustrates the mystery of Christ’s self-emptying in his death and supreme exaltation. This hymn is often called the Carmen Christi, and the Carmen Christi situates the death of Christ in its total context. St. Paul speaks of the kenosis (self-emptying) of Christ, “who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being” (Phil. 2:7). St. Paul points to his glorification thus: “And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names” (Phil. 2:9).  In this Christological presentation, the identity of Christ was revealed: Jesus is the Son of God, who in order to save man, became man, through an itinerary of suffering, humiliation and death.

     Indeed, the liturgy of the Palm Sunday presents to us a complete chart of the mystery of our salvation. Let us not forget, that we are called to be active in the whole event, because it was for the sake of man and his salvation that the Son of God passed through this heroic adventure. As such, St. Paul sets out to propose a model we all have to imitate, if man is at the center of Jesus’s Passion, he cannot remain only as a passive spectator. Little wonder, the apostle invites: “make your own the mind of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). We are invited therefore, to follow with faith and love the passion of the Lord.

          This liturgical year, we read the passion account according to St. Luke (22:14-23:56), and each of the four evangelists has his own distinctive perspective on the event of the Passion. Mark emphasizes on the isolation of Christ: betrayed and denied by his apostles, forsaken, mocked and tortured by his enemies etc. Mathew dwells more on the royalty of Christ, although a royalty that manifested itself in humiliation. Likewise, John on his part dwells on the royalty of Christ, but his is a visible royalty. Luke takes a different dimension, from tragedy to pathos, therein he presents the story of the martyrdom of one who goes out in sympathy for others, for instance: “the daughters of Jerusalem”, “Father forgive them”, “Today you will be with me”.

     One of the major characteristics of Luke is the extreme consciousness with which Jesus was going towards his passion. He was not unprepared. He foresaw and desired it: “With longing have I desired to eat this Passover with you, before I suffer” (Lk. 22:15). At the Last Supper He anticipated the sacrificial offering of himself. And the Eucharist is the sign of his self-giving to death for us. His, was a pro existence, being for. “And taking bread, he gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this as a commemoration of me. Similarly also, he took the chalice after he had eaten the meal, saying: This chalice is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you” (Lk. 22:19-20). Jesus gave himself up for us sinners, as a full submission to God for love of us.

          St. Luke sees in Jesus the perfect image of the Divine Martyr. He went resolutely towards his Cross, without any iota of hesitation. He appeared less worried of himself, than for others. He consoles the women of Jerusalem: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children” (Lk. 23:28). He asks for pardon on behalf of those who would crucify him, “Father forgive them, because they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). He gave up his life in serenity and trust: “Father into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). St. Luke talks about the agony of Gethsemane in order to express deeply the painful experience of Jesus. “And being in agony, he prayed more intensely; and so his sweat became like drops of blood, running down to the ground” (Lk. 23:44). He nourished the arid ground of the human soul with His Blood.

          Moreover, he introduces in his account episodes of intense participation by the people, “Large numbers of people, and women too, who mourned and lamented for him” (Lk. 23:27). Those who witnessed his cruel death appeared more curious and surprised, unlike the soldiers and the Chief priests who were rather hostile. The people seem to have understood: “And the entire crowd of those who came together to see this spectacle also saw what had happened, and they returned striking their breast” (Lk. 23:48). The centurion seeing what has happened was moved and it led him to the profession of faith: “Truly, this man was the Just One” (Lk. 23:47). The most surprising episode is that of the good thief, who unlike his fellow saw in the whole incident an opportunity for repentance. And here the account of Luke differs from those of Mathew and Mark, because the two thieves in their account both insulted Jesus, but Luke tells us of a good thief who rebuked the other who spoke ill of Jesus, and then pleaded: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom” (Lk. 23:42). And Jesus replied “Amen I say to you, this day you shall be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

          The Passion of Jesus can be for us an opportunity for repentance (the repentant thief), an occasion to affirm His identity (the Centurion) or just as an incident that arouses hostility and indifference in us. So, are we like Judas that betrayed him? Like Peter that denied him? Like Pilate that delivered him to death? Like the stubborn thief that insulted Him? Instead let us cue in, in the line of Simon of Cyrene who helped him to carry his (our) Cross, of the women of Jerusalem that mourn for him, of the centurion who strikes his chest and recognizes him as the Son of God, of the good thief that believed and entrusted himself to Jesus. Does His Passion still move us today? His Passion should move and touch us because our sins inflicted those pains and sufferings on him. Let it not be a momentary touch or feelings, rather His Passion should move us to flee from our sins and abandon our old ways, for through His wounds we are healed (Is. 53:5; 1Pt.2:21) and made whole.

          In all, may His Passion lead us to the discovery of His real identity, and here the gesture and proclamation of the Centurion is superb! “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mt.27:54; Mk.15:39; Lk.23:47). The pagan Centurion did not recognize his Sonship because he saw the tomb empty, not because he saw a shining light, but he discovered this at the heart of the event of His Passion: Jesus on the Cross, the reality-show! But all does not end here, we can only read and understand this event if we start from the end. Indeed, the Scripture, the Passion of Christ like the Hebrew alphabet is to be read from the end! Happy Palm Sunday!!!

(Fr. Vitus M. C. Unegbu, SC)