Reflection for Passion Sunday

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ

This Sunday we will read Mark's entire Gospel account of Jesus' Passion as well as celebrate the Liturgy of The Palms. We don't necessarily think of scripture as being "dramatic" but it is. This Sunday's reading encompass the entire range of human emotions: excitement, anticipation, allegiance, anger, rage, fear, betrayal, loneliness, friendship, compassion, despair, respect, and many more that aren't mentioned here.

I wonder if it isn't worth it to listen to the various voices of the gospel narrative to truly live into what is actually going on. What are the characters actually saying and how do their words impact us as we hear what's going on. How is it that a crowd of people move from exulting Jesus of Nazareth upon his entry into Jerusalem to a place where they scream out for his execution just a few days later. How can someone so loyal as Peter swear his allegiance to his rabbi only to completely abandon him in just a few matter of hours. (the photo is Welcome Home by Gurdon Brewster)


Perhaps most important, observe and admire how God responds throughout each and every scene. When and why is Jesus the Christ silent? How does the Incarnate God act in contrast to Pilate? I find myself amazed at the differences between the two even as I wrestle with the scene's meaning for me as one of Jesus' disciples.

We read the Passion narrative because people may or may not be able to share in Holy Week's liturgies later on. We shouldn't bypass any of our Lord's steps from Palm Sunday's triumphant Entry to Easter Sunday's tomb. Golgotha's Cross and Jesus' mortal death are as much of the narrative as is Jesus the Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday morning. Each dramatic scene is necessarily connected to the others. These emotional and spiritual truths leap off of scriptural pages into our own experiences, our own dramas. Jesus, the Living Word of God is inscribed onto our souls as well as our Christian faith.

Holy Week begins this Sunday. Come, listen, and live into Christianity's more meaningful drama once again.

Blessings Along The Way, Jim