Palm Sunday (Cycle C, Year I)
Community Word: Being a community of believers, we are raised with Christ as we reform our ways and bear fruit.
Theme: We reform our ways and bear fruit when we share in the suffering of Jesus Christ.
Promise: “It is you who have stood by me in my trials, and I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has
conferred one on me,that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.” (Lk 22:28-30a)
Reflection: LOVE AND BETRAYAL
Today is Palm Sunday, the day that ushers in Holy Week in the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar. However, if we go by Scriptures, we will see that Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mat 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-44) happened way ahead of his actual passion and death. There are also two gospels you can reflect upon this Sunday – Luke 23:1-49 and/or Luke 22:14-23:56. Both speak of the trial of Jesus and his crucifixion and death on the cross. There is yet another gospel passage that is somewhat relevant to these reading from Luke, and this is from Mark 14:1-15, 47. It tells of the contrast between the love expressed by Mary in anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive oil, and the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, one of his apostles.
The dichotomy between love and betrayal is something we all go through in life. But first let us reflect upon the relevance of Palm Sunday to the Holy Week that we are about to observe.
The Church celebrates this solemn entry into Jerusalem with the blessing of palm fronds. During the Mass, the history of the Passion as related by St. Matthew is either read, or sung by the choir. At the blessing of the palms, the priest prays that God may preserve from sin and danger, those who receive and keep these palms in their homes. This is the reason why we keep and tie the blessed palms at the door of our homes. The palms used by the Jews to welcome Jesus when he entered Jerusalem symbolize victory – the victory Christ was to gain over the devil through His death on the cross. The procession on Palm Sunday signifies the Christian’s triumphal entry into heaven. And when the priest knocks three times at the door of the church with the processional cross, it symbolizes that only through trials and tribulations can we enter the gate of heaven and be admitted to the realms of heavenly joy.
Some have challenged these traditions, claiming they are against what Jesus preached. But the reality is that these traditions are what make our Catholic faith unique because they unite us with what Our Lord Jesus Christ went through, and our salvation depends on our oneness with Christ, while reflecting his prayer at Gethsemane “so that they may be one as we are one.” (Jn 17:11)
The scene depicted in Mark 14:1-15 shows the glaring discrepancy between our love for God – as exemplified by Mary bringing out the flask of expensive oil (worth a year’s wages for an ordinary laborer in those days) to anoint the feet of Jesus, and our own betrayal of Jesus, as personified by Judas in Lk 22:47-48, an act which separates us from God. The disciples even reprimand Mary because they maintain that the costly oil could have been sold for money to either finance their travel, or been given to the poor. It’s relevance to us is seen Jesus response: “She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you and you can help them anytime you want. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.” (vv.6-8)
The reality is that anything we do for the least of our brethren is seen by God as a beautiful thing. Like Mary, we are anointing the feet of Jesus whenever we give generously. The apostles may have considered it a waste, but the Holy One whom Mary honored did not. Today, Jesus is no longer physically present to us. But it is a good time to ask ourselves what act of worship we can render Him while we still have the opportunity to do so.
This brings us to the question of how we do honor the Lord. Do we faithfully give tithes and love offerings? Do we serve Him with our time, talent and treasures, even when it is inconvenient for us? Jesus himself gives us a clue when he credited Mary for “doing a beautiful thing to me” (v.6). In other words, genuine humble service is what pleases the Lord and makes us holy in his sight.
Let the yielding of our sinful nature to Christ be the palm fronds in our hands, symbolizing our victory over the world and triumphal entry into heaven in our total surrender of selves to Christ (Lk 22:14-23:56).
Today’s gospel also presents us a contrasting view of the treacherous act of Judas. There are many theories as to why Judas betrayed his own Master. Some suggests he may have been motivated by greed, bitter disappointment or disillusionment with Jesus. Or, it may well be that Judas never intended for his Master to die. Perhaps he thought Jesus was not being aggressive enough in setting up his messianic kingdom. Perhaps Judas wanted to force Jesus’ hand by compelling him to act.
Regardless of his motives, Judas’s real tragedy was his refusal to accept Jesus as he was. In the same way, there are times when we too try to transform God into our own image of him, or use Him for our own purposes. We try to tailor and fit Him into our situation and personal convenience. We pray and expect God to agree with what we want, striving to change, or influence His thinking, utterly forgetting that it is we who must be changed by Him.
We may not be aware of it, but there is a Judas in each of us whenever we allow iniquity and transgression into our hearts. Every sin we commit is an act of betrayal of Our Lord. Just as we can do a beautiful thing for Christ when we help the poor, we can be equally as cunning as Judas and plant the kiss of death on Jesus whenever we sin.
As the anointing of Jesus by Mary gives us the right perspective on what is pleasing to God, we must also view the treacherous act of Judas as a favor, because it leads us to rethink and reassess our commitment to God and his presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit. This Holy Week is an opportune time to ask whether we are genuine disciples or fake followers.
As we dwell on the life of Christ in this week’s Gospel, we can choose despair and death, or we can choose repentance, forgiveness, hope and eternal life. The betrayal of Judas sent Jesus to the cross, but his death on the cross gave us the gift of salvation. In truth, sharing in the suffering of Christ is an opportunity to reform our lives that we may become pleasing and acceptable in His sight.
Reflection Question:
This Holy Week presents us with the opportunity to pass from death (sinfulness) to life (salvation). Are we going to accept the gift Christ paid for with his life? Or are we going to persist in betraying him like Judas?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 24, 2013 (Sun) Is 50:4-7/Ps 22:8,9,17-20,23,24/Phil 2:6-11/LK 22:14-23:56 or Lk 23:1-49
March 25, 2013 (Mon) Is 42:1-7/Ps 27:1-3,13,14/Jn 12:1-11
March 26, 2013 (Tues) Is 49:1-6/Ps 71:1-6,15,17/Jn 13:21-33,36-38
March 27, 2013 (Wed) Is 50:4-9/Ps 69:8-10,21,22,31,33-34/Mt 26:14-25
March 28, 2013 (Thur) Is 61:1-3,8,9/Ps 89:21,22,25,27/Rv 1:5-8/Lk 4:16-21
March 29, 2013 (Fri) Is 52:13-53:12/Ps 31:2,6,12,13,15,16,17,25/ Heb 4:14-16;5:7-9/Jn 18:1-19:42
March 30, 2013 (Sat) Gn 1:1-2:2/ Ps 118:1-2,16,17,22,23/ Rom 6:3-11/Lk 24:1-12
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
