The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, April 9, 2006
BCP: : Isaiah 45:21-25 or 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22:1-21 or 22:1-11; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark (14:32-72)15:1-39(40-47)
RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 or 15:1-39(40-47)
The great hymn of Christ’s self-emptying and exaltation in the second chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is read in both lectionaries used in worship on this holy day. The drama of the liturgy undergirds the spiritual progression described therein. With our cries of “Hosanna” in the Liturgy of the Palms, we begin in an elevated position of praise that is not “a thing to be grasped,” for the Liturgy of the Word invites us to be emptied with our Lord into the obedience of sacrifice.
This emptying is well expressed by the prophet Isaiah in the passage from chapter 50, “the third Servant Song.” In it we read the familiar phrases “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard…I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Similarly, the verses of chapters 52 and 53, “the fourth Servant Song,” speak of long-suffering obedience, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief… But he was wounded for our transgressions.”
The appointed verses of Psalm 22 or Psalm 31 both speak of sorrowful trouble and make a plea for God’s mercy. But the epistle affirms that suffering and sorrow, “even unto death on a cross,” is not the final word. The Father “has highly exalted him.” Echoing the wording of the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, the apostle wrote, “every knee shall bow” at the Name of Jesus and “every tongue confess” he is Lord, “to the glory of God.”
The theme of Christ’s self-emptying and suffering reaches a climax in the recitation of the Passion Gospel. Here we encounter Jesus, pleading with the Father in the garden, “Remove this cup.” Yet he obediently submits, “not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Our Lord endures the betrayal by Judas, the denial by Peter, the mocking and the scourging and the devastating cry of the crowd, “Crucify him!” Finally, they crucified him, but again, even death on the cross is not the final word. “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
Look It Up
Read a passage from the prophet Isaiah that is not read in your parish this Sunday. Use it each day of Holy Week for a meditation on the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice.
Think About It
How might you alter your schedule this week to enter into the observance of Holy Week more fully? Are you willing to sacrifice the time to reflect on the sacrifice of our Savior?
Next Sunday
Easter Day, April 16, 2006
BCP: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 118:14-29 or 118:14-17,22-24; Col. 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43; Mark 16:1-8
RCL: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; 1 Cor. 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
