Sunday Readings
When Christ entered into Jerusalem the people spread garments in the way. When He enters into our hearts, we pull off our righteousness and not only lay it under Christ’s feet but even trample upon it ourselves.” — Augustus
“…We can’t let Holy Week be just a kind of commemoration. It means contemplating the mystery of Jesus Christ as something which continues to work in our souls.” –St. Josemaria Escriva
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
Today we have gathered to celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to accomplish His Salvific Mission. Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. Our celebration today is one of the mixed feelings. A celebration that begins with triumphant songs of kingly praises but culminates in betrayal, unjust condemnation, and sorrowful passion. No, it wasn’t the Jews but you and I that betrayed and condemned Jesus to death. We preferred an armed robber to the King of Glory. That’s exactly what we do each time we prefer evil to doing good or loving God.
We have entered into the holiest of all weeks. A week in which the mystery of our salvation is accomplished through the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ. A week, beginning with the chief priests trying to stone Jesus, gave meaning to our lives as God’s Children and earned us our identity as Christians. We are neither recounting history nor retelling a story that happened thousands of years ago, nor remembering a past event. We are reliving and re-enacting (living out) in the present and consciously participating with Christ in everything He underwent to gain our freedom and salvation.” St. Josemaria Escriva once said, “….we can’t let Holy Week be just a kind of commemoration. It means contemplating the mystery of Jesus Christ as something which continues to work in our souls. Therefore proper participation in the Holy Week liturgy will deepen our relationship with God, increase our faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus. Let us remember that Holy Week can become “holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week. This is also the week when we should lighten the burden of Christ’s Passion, as daily experienced by the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the lonely, and the outcast, through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
~The readings of today have contrasting moments of glory and suffering, joy and sorrow. Pleasure and pain are two extremes of human experience. Jesus also experienced the joy of a kingly and triumphant welcome, as well as the sorrows of betrayal, an unjust trial, and condemnation which culminated in His suffering and death. These are the dynamics of human experience. Jesus experienced it because He was truly human. To deny His Humanity is to reject His Suffering as a truly human experience. We too daily experience moments of joy and sorrow, but in His sufferings, we draw our strength.
~In the first reading from the third Servant Song of Isaiah 50:4-7, Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed. The Church refers to the Servant Songs, in this time of solemn meditation upon the climax of Jesus’ life.
~The second reading from Philippians 2:6-11 is an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how His Mission saves us from sin and death. This reading reminds us that our Lord willingly surrendered Himself to experience suffering and humiliation for our sake. He did not cling to His Divinity but became a human being just as we are. He humbled Himself further in His humanity to be enslaved like a servant, obediently embracing suffering and death and crucifixion for our sake.
~The Gospel today has two parts. The first part is read before the procession with palms and describes the royal reception which Jesus received from his admirers. Jesus permitted such a royal procession for two reasons: 1) to reveal to the general public that He was the promised Messiah, and 2) to fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah (9:9) and Zephaniah(3:16-19): “Rejoice, heart and soul, daughter of Zion…”
In the second part, we listen to Luke’s narrative. In this Passion narrative, we are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the story: Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus. Many times in our life, we too deny, betray, ridicule, act against our conscience and persevere in our position in justifying evil. Let there be a transformation in our lives through this passion experience.
~Let us welcome Jesus into our hearts and our homes. Today, we receive palm branches. Let us take them to our homes and put them someplace where we can always see them. Let the palms remind us that Christ is the King of our families, that Christ is the King of our hearts, and that Christ is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives.
~Let the experience of this Holy Week strengthen us in our various difficulties and challenges of life. Suffering and pain are an inevitable part of human experience. Jesus experienced the pain of an unfair burden. No one wants to experience pain. Many even try to avoid pain at all costs. However, Holy Week reminds us that it is through suffering that we enter into victory. Without the Cross, there cannot be a crown. So be a strong Child of God in your sufferings. Don’t deny Christ, because you will surely be victorious like Christ, if you do not succumb to evil by compromising your faith.
~Let us offer Christ our donkeys. If someone had not let go of their donkey who knows if Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem would have been as triumphant as it was. Jesus needs our sacrifices to support the Church and suffering humanity. Our little sacrificial gifts go a long way in relieving the crosses of many who are suffering. Let us be generous and kind. “It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we are. If just as we are, we would lay ourselves on the altar of service of Jesus Christ, there is no saying what Christ could do with us and through us. “-William Barclay
Let us always remember that a Christian without Christ is a contradiction in terms. Such a one betrays the Christian message. Hence, let us become active Christians during this Holy Week, enabling others to see in us Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness, and sacrificial service.
May the experience of this Holy Week renew and restore your faith in God. May you receive the grace to be a better Child of God. May it strengthen you in moments of difficulties. May you see beyond your sufferings the victory that lies ahead.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
