The Church celebrates the 6th Sunday of Lent as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. This is the time of the year when we stop to remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation. What we commemorate and relive during this week is not just Jesus’ death and resurrection, but our own dying to sin and rising with Him to new life, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption.
Proper participation in the Holy Week liturgy will deepen our relationship with God, increase our faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus. Today’s liturgy combines contrasting moments — one of glory and the other of suffering - the royal welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem and the drama of His trial culminating in His crucifixion, death and burial.
Today’s events were all foretold thousands of year ago. The 1st reading from Isaiah, one of the 4 Suffering Servant songs, speaks of a courageous and obedient messiah-figure who says, “I have set my face like flint” against the beatings and scourging that lie ahead, “knowing that I shall not be put to shame.” It foreshadows Jesus’ life and mission, more so His passion and death.
The 2nd reading, taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, 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. He identified himself with the sinful humanity. He humbled himself obediently accepting death, even death on the cross and he did so freely.
The first Gospel for today would have been before the procession and it describes the royal reception which Jesus received from His admirers, who paraded the road for a distance of two miles: from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem. For a while, they acknowledged Him as King. “Hosanna son of David.” He rode a donkey into the city. We all need to be like that humble donkey by carrying and sharing Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service to our families and in our families and our communities especially during this time of the pandemic.
In today’s second Gospel, we have listened to the Passion of Christ brought to us by Matthew. So then, we are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the Passion story � like Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience as he condemned Jesus to death on the cross, Herod who ridiculed Jesus or the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus.
Hence, we ask ourselves thus: Are we ready to surrender our lives to Jesus this Holy Week and welcome Him into all areas of our lives as our Lord and Savior? Are we willing to entrust ourselves to Him even when the future is frightening or confusing, believing that God has a plan?(apostles took off) Can we see that the story of the suffering and death of Jesus which we heard in the Passion is basically a story of God’s love for us all? How should we respond to it? (Gratitude � emptied self for our sake)
May the palms and branches remind us that Christ is the King of our families, that He is the King of our hearts and that He is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives. Let the palms and branches be signs that we are willing to march with Jesus, not only in moments of triumph and glory, but also in times of agony and sorrow.
As we follow Jesus this Holy week, may we learn from Him to do not our wills, but the will of God. He accepted to be the suffering servant of God in order to fulfill the mission entrusted to Him by the Father of saving humanity. May the anticipation of His resurrection give us hope to endure our current suffering and pain knowing that the glory of the resurrection awaits us. Amen.