Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday

FOLLOWING JESUS THROUGH LENT

How to meet Jesus

1. Give time every day. Sit quietly in a comfortable position, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus who is present to you. Call on the Holy Spirit, your Teacher and Guide. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it. It is a dialogue. You want to get to know Jesus, to get a new insight into ‘the Son of Man’. Understand the meaning of the passage, use a commentary if necessary.

4. Try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene. Speak to Jesus.

2010 Mar 28 SUN:    PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION
                                    Procession: Lk 19:28-40. Mass: Lk 22: 14 – 23: 56

                                           Picture in the church at Bethany near Jerusalem

The Death of Jesus

³³ When they reached the place called The Skull, there they crucified him and the two criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.' Then they cast lots to share out his clothing. ³⁵ The people stayed there watching. As for the leaders, they jeered at him with the words, 'He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.' ³⁶ The soldiers mocked him too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, ³⁷ and saying, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.' ³⁸ Above him there was an inscription: 'This is the King of the Jews'. ³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there abused him: 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.' ⁴⁰ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at all?' he said. 'You got the same sentence as he did, ⁴¹ but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.' ⁴² Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' ⁴³ He answered him, 'In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.' ⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour and the sun's light failed, so that darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ The veil of the Sanctuary was torn right down the middle. ⁴⁶ Jesus cried out in a loud voice saying, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' With these words he breathed his last.

Jesus came to take our sins away. So he became a man tracing his ancestry back to Adam. Adam and Eve sinned by rebelling against God.. Their children increased their disobedience and rebelled even more. Where men had refused to love and obey God, Jesus came to love Him with all his heart and soul and obey Him in all things. This Jesus did perfectly. He had to pay a heavy price. The leaders decided to kill him. The crowds were uncomprehending and his disciples were weak. One conspired with the priests and handed him over to them in the darkness.  Jesus submitted trusting his Father to vindicate him. In his last moments he offered his life asking his Father to forgive our sins. By his Sacrifice we are forgiven and receive all God’s blessings ‘He loved you and gave his life for you’. What are you doing for him?

2010 Mar 29 Mon:    Monday of Holy Week  Jn 12: 1-11 

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. ² They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table. ³ Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was filled with the scent of the ointment. ⁴ Then Judas Iscariot -- one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him-said, ⁵ 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents. ⁷ So Jesus said, 'Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸ You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.' ⁹ Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

The drama of the Passion is fast approaching. Notice the characters. The setting is a meal in Bethany. The Disciples are there and Lazarus and many people have come to see Lazarus. Martha is serving. The chief priests are there without being physically present. Mary has a deep and passionate love for Jesus. She alone seems to realise the mystery of Jesus’ personality. She pours perfume over his feet. It is not ordinary perfume but that used for burial. It cost the equivalent of almost a year’s wages for a labourer. Judas objects to the ‘waste’. His heart is hardened. The others don’t understand as we know from the other Gospels. Mary represents the true Israel of all who accept Jesus. Does she represent you? How can you show your love for Christ?  Let us too first love  the poor rather than just give to them, as Judas suggests.
2010 Mar 30 Tue:      Tuesday of Holy Week Jn 13: 21-33, 36-38

Having said this, Jesus was deeply disturbed and declared, 'In all truth I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.' ²² The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he meant. ²³ The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; ²⁴ Simon Peter signed to him and said, 'Ask who it is he means,' ²⁵ so leaning back close to Jesus' chest he said, 'Who is it, Lord?' ²⁶ Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I give the piece of bread that I dip in the dish.' And when he had dipped the piece of bread he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, 'What you are going to do, do quickly.' ²⁸ None of the others at table understood why he said this. ²⁹ Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, 'Buy what we need for the festival,' or telling him to give something to the poor. ³⁰ As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. It was night. ³¹ When he had gone, Jesus said: Now has the Son of man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. ³² If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon. ³³ Little children, I shall be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and, as I told the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come.

Simon Peter said, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied, 'Now you cannot follow me where I am going, but later you shall follow me.' ³⁷ Peter said to him, 'Why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' ³⁸ 'Lay down your life for me?' answered Jesus. 'In all truth I tell you, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.'

Judas’ betrayal pierced the heart of Jesus. The psalmist expresses his anguish. “If this had been done by an enemy, I could bear his taunts, but it is you, my own companion, my intimate friend. How close was the friendship between us.”. “The traitor has turned against his friends. He has broken his word. His speech is softer than butter but war is in his heart. His words are smooth like oil, but they are naked swords”. Jesus is deeply troubled. He has appealed to Judas, but been rejected. With Judas gone a burden falls from Jesus’ shoulders. He is now with his own and he can reveal his heart to them, even if they in their weakness will abandon him and Peter will deny him. They will all come back. Judas will not. At this Supper where are you? Are you the consolation or grief of Jesus?

2010 Mar 31 Wed:     Wednesday of Holy Week  Mt 26: 14-25

Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, 'What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?' They paid him thirty silver pieces, ¹⁶ and from then onwards he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. ¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say, 'Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?' ¹⁸ He said, 'Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, "The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples." ' ¹⁹ The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover. ²⁰ When evening came he was at table with the Twelve. ²¹ And while they were eating he said, 'In truth I tell you, one of you is about to betray me.' ²² They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, 'Not me, Lord, surely?' ²³ He answered, 'Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!' ²⁵ Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn, 'Not me, Rabbi, surely?' Jesus answered, 'It is you who say it.'

John has mentioned that Judas is a thief. Now Matthew seems to say that one of the motives was love for money. He betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Judas fell from great heights. In his betrayal the Scriptures are fulfilled but they do not force him. He has freely chosen and so is responsible. Jesus had loved him and chosen him to be his apostle. He must have had great hopes for him. Judas allowed sin and greed to enter his soul. He is a warning to everyone and especially to those who have been specially called. We can become a Judas if we allow love for money to grow in us and do not come to Jesus in our weakness and sin. Judas’ greater sin is that he didn’t return to Jesus. His soul was bereft of love for Jesus. Now there is no hope for him.

1^st April

Holy Thursday.

                                 They came to a place called Gethsemane, garden of olives.

John 13:1-15

¹ Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end. ² They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, ⁴ and he got up from table, removed his outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; ⁵ he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' ⁷ Jesus answered, 'At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.' ⁸ 'Never!' said Peter. 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus replied, 'If I do not wash you, you can have no share with me.' Simon Peter said, ⁹ 'Well then, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!' ¹⁰ Jesus said, 'No one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.' ¹¹ He knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, 'though not all of you are'. ¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again he went back to the table. 'Do you understand', he said, 'what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. ¹⁴ If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.

Jesus came to serve and not be served. Though God he humbled himself and took the form of a servant. He emptied himself on the Cross offering his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In the Eucharist Jesus offers this one eternal sacrifice of the Cross. Both are identical. As members of his body we share in this offering. We are to share not just ritually but by being ourselves servants of one another. And so today John emphasises that as Jesus’ life of love can be summarised by the washing of his disciples feet likewise if we wish to share in the offering of the Eucharist we too must live a life of love and service. We are united to Jesus who washes feet out of love. Do you see participation in the Mass as joining your life of service to others with the offering of Jesus?

Olive garden in Jerusalem

2^nd April 2010  Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem.

The Death of Jesus (John 19:17-30)

They then took charge of Jesus, ¹⁷ and carrying his own cross he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified him with two others, one on either side, Jesus being in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews'. ²⁰ This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. ²¹ So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, 'You should not write "King of the Jews", but that the man said, "I am King of the Jews". ' ²² Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.' ²³ When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; ²⁴ so they said to one another, 'Instead of tearing it, let's throw dice to decide who is to have it.' In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothes. That is what the soldiers did. ²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. ²⁶ Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son.' ²⁷ Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. ²⁸ After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be completely fulfilled, he said: I am thirsty. ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine stood there; so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a hyssop stick, they held it up to his mouth. ³⁰ After Jesus had taken the wine he said, 'It is fulfilled'; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

This is his hour when Jesus glorifies his Father. He lived for him and now dies for him. Likewise it is the hour when the Father will glorify him. Jesus is not a helpless victim. He lays down his own life and takes it up again. He reigns from the Cross. Though he allows his enemies to divide up his outer life casting lots for his garments, he is supreme. They cannot tear his inner garment. He himself offers up his spirit. Mary is a symbol of true Israel waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises. Israel in Mary is the mother of the Christian community. Mary too is the New Eve and brings forth her children in pain, only to later rejoice. Jesus gives up his spirit, the Holy Spirit, to her children. Jesus gives his Spirit to all who believe. As you kiss his Cross receive his Spirit.

April 3^rd 2010 Holy Saturday.

Luke 24:1-12

¹ On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, the women went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, ³ but on entering they could not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled about this, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. ⁵ Terrified, the women bowed their heads to the ground. But the two said to them, 'Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: ⁷ that the Son of man was destined to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day.' ⁸ And they remembered his words. ⁹ And they returned from the tomb and told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. And the other women with them also told the apostles, ¹¹ but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them. ¹² Peter, however, went off to the tomb, running. He bent down and looked in and saw the linen cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened.

The women went to the tomb expecting to find the body of Jesus and anoint it. The tomb was empty and the young men told them “he isn’t here. He has risen”. Jesus has conquered death and for us too. The poison of death has been removed. We have to undergo it but it is no longer the death it was. Then death reigned supreme and after our life we would go at best into a land of shades. Jesus has revealed that we have a Father who longs for us and who sent Jesus to win reconciliation for us. Our Father takes delight in showing mercy and Jesus is an advocate pleading our cause. Death is still our enemy but it has been made the gateway to a life of happiness with God himself. We need only to call on Jesus from our heart to share his victory.

“He descended into hell”  Jesus saving Adam and Eve