Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday (Year C), April 1, 2007
BCP: Isaiah 45:21-25 or Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22:1-21 or 22:1-11; Phil. 2:5-11; Luke (22:39-71) 23:1-49 (50-56)
RCL: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Phil. 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56 or Luke 23:1-49
On this day of palms and passion, the readings reflect the tension building steadily from the joy of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the horror of the way to the cross out of Jerusalem. The tension between the two is palpable and this day is rich with both.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? This is not only a song, but a question to us as well. What happens as we go there to the cross is that first we see Jesus before Pilate. Jesus is condemned. Jesus is obedient unto death, even death on a cross. This is the will of God. Obedience cost Jesus his life. What does it cost us to be obedient to those in authority over us?
And then we see the human Jesus, subject to human frailties. Tired and weak, he falls on the way to Golgotha. Humans must learn to accept their limitations. We are not invincible. We will get sick and tired and irritable. We will fall in our journey to the cross, but struggle to get up and keep following Jesus there. Finally, someone sees how greatly Jesus is struggling, under the burden of the cross. Simon of Cyrene is the one known for coming to the aid of Jesus, helping him carry the weight of the tree. Every time we lift some burden from another’s back, it’s as if we lift the awful weight of the cross off of Jesus’ back. Any time we lend our hand in any way it matters not to whom — our name is Simon.
Each of the gospels presents the death of Jesus in a different way. In Luke, we stand with the crowd of the people watching as Jesus is crucified. It is in this version that Jesus prays for forgiveness for those who have rejected and crucified him. It is here that he assures the penitent criminal of the blessing in paradise.
In placing ourselves in the crowd, we come to realize that at any given point, we may know that we have been witnesses, but may be unsure what it means to be a witness. Luke doesn’t really interpret the meaning of this distance. Clearly “all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,” will never be able to deny what they saw. We don’t know if they are horrified at themselves in a moment of self-understanding, if they are horrified and hopeless, or if they are angry. What an appropriate place to begin the journey of Holy Week.
Look It Up
Eucharistic Prayer C states: “But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another” (BCP, p. 370).
Think About It
What have we learned about ourselves as witnesses to Jesus’ passion? If we were called before a skeptic, would we deny what we saw and how we felt?
Next Sunday
Easter Day (Year C), April 8, 2007
BCP: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 51:9-11; Psalm 118:14-29 or 118:14-17, 22-24; Col. 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43; Luke 24:1-10
RCL: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Cor. 15:19-26 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-12
