Pastor's Letter 20240324 - 24 March 2024- Palm Sunday

[Father Michael]

March 24^th, 2024

Palm Sunday

Jesus enters Jerusalem astride a donkey.

Message from Father ^†Michael

Today’s Theme:  “Death and Life”

Reflections on Today’s Scripture

(Isaiah 50:4-7)  The prophet foresaw a Suffering Servant, carrying out His mission—sustained by a firm belief that God will not abandon Him.  In no way did He resemble a kingly, powerful or Messianic figure, for Whom the people of Israel prayed and yearned.  We think of Jesus, of course, as we hear these words.  His life shows that discipleship requires daily resolve and resiliency.  

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(Philippians 2:6-11)  ^†Paul tells us Jesus took our human condition upon Himself, accepting death on a cross.  From there, the Father raised Him up, making Him Lord of heaven and earth.  For those who can pierce the paradox of the Cross, Christ’s ultimate sacrifice has become a sign and a pledge of life and glory, as exemplified in the words:  “...to give and not count the cost; to fight and not heed the wounds..,” that require an attitude which can only be borne of faith.

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(Mark 14:1-47)  The “final act” in the drama of Jesus has come:   ^†Mark’s Passion stresses the crude trial and shocking details of Jesus’ suffering.  He relates Jesus’ died in total isolation, deserted by His disciples, taunted by His enemies, derided by those who “hung” with Him, and worst of all, seemingly abandoned by God.  The rending of the curtain in the temple signifies the end of the privilege of Israel.  Thereafter, access to the divine Presence was made open to all.  The apt reply of the centurion: “Truly, this Man was the Son of God,” dominates ^†Mark’s Gospel.

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Significance of  ^†Mark’s Passion

Some commentators of earlier times considered the Gospel of ^†Mark to be the work of “John Mark,” the personal secretary of ^†Peter.  If so, it would seem rather ironic, for ^†Mark sometimes portrayed ^†Peter in an unflattering light— especially as he recounted Jesus’ passion and death narrative.  At a time when Jesus needed a friend the most, His “chief apostle” abandoned Him.  Twice, ^†Peter denied he was a follower of the Nazarene, and when questioned a third time, he replied with a most vehement oath, saying: “I do not know the Man!” (Mark 14:71.) 

In one sense, ^†Peter was right!  He did not truly know Jesus.  He thought he did, but his faith was immature.  When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” ^†Peter rightly answered: “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29.)  It was an important moment of revelation, to be sure.  Having witnessed Jesus’ many miracles and having heard Him teach with authority, ^†Peter voiced the correct answer—but only partially so.  Jesus truly was the anointed One of Yahweh, but ^†Peter still needed to understand that Jesus was also the Son of God.  The fullness of the revelation of Jesus would come about only in His suffering and death on the cross—to which Jesus immediately pointed, when He predicted His passion for the first time (Mark 8:31.) ^†Peter’s attempt to dissuade Jesus from his destiny (Mark 89:32-22,) made it obvious He comprehended neither the identity nor the mission of the Son of God.  His failure then had tragic repercussions during the crisis of the Passion. 

Of course, ^†Peter and the other disciples did believe in Jesus, but their vision was impaired— like the blind man whom Jesus had to heal in stages (Mark 8:23-25.)   By depicting the disciples in this way, ^†Mark invited his original audience (the early Church) to identify themselves with the Twelve, as they struggled toward deeper understanding.  Like this first community of believers, we also are summoned to make the journey to fuller faith.

Throughout his Gospel, ^†Mark is insistent that only by knowing Jesus, in His suffering and death, can we fully know Him as the Messiah and the Son of God.  This is why ^†Mark shaped His passion narrative as he did—the cross was the key to answering the question that Jesus asks of all His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” 

From the very beginning, ^†Mark portrayed Jesus as a man stalked by death, always pointing us toward the inevitable climax of the cross.  As He progressed through His ministry, Jesus faced increasing opposition from the “forces of Satan,” a conflict that began at the very outset (Mark 1:13.)    Additionally, Jesus was also confronted by the growing enmity of the Jewish religious leaders.  From early on, they devised plans to “destroy Him.” (Mark 3:6.)  By the time ^†Mark reintroduced the Pharisees’ plot against Jesus—two days before Passover (Mark 14:1)—we have been well prepared to understand this was the culmination of Jesus’ entire life and mission.

At the threshold of Jesus’ Passion, however, ^†Mark paused to tell the story of the woman in Bethany, who paused to anoint Jesus with oil—a moment of singular tenderness and reverence—and one in which Jesus emphasized: “She has anointed My body beforehand for burying.”  And, “Wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Mark 14:8-9.)

Still, ^†Mark allowed even this wonderful scene of worship to be tinged with irony: Jesus’ passion was launched by this act of human kindness—performed not by one of His chosen disciples, but by an unnamed woman.  As if to underscore the irony, ^†Mark immediately recounted the supreme example of the disciples’ failure to understand Jesus: “Then, Judas Iscariot, on the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray Him” (Mark 14:10.)

^†Mark used his sharp sense of irony as a powerful tool.  By constantly overturning our expectations and keeping us off guard, ^†Mark invites his readers to look more closely at a familiar story and allow the Holy Spirit to draw them deeper into the drama of Jesus’ Passion.

Looking beyond the Cross, Jesus linked the New Age He was about to usher into being, during the Last Supper, with the “sacramental formula” of the Liturgy: “This is My Body…”  And: “This is the Cup of My Blood…that will be shed for all mankind…. Do this in memory of Me.”  He promised that all who share Holy Communion with Him would be together in His Father’s Kingdom.  Such a promise would have been especially meaningful for ^†Mark’s original readers, who faced daily threats of persecution and death.  

Aware of those hardships of the early Christian community, ^†Mark made it abundantly clear that Jesus, Whom they worshipped, had experienced suffering as intense as their own.  In particular, His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane highlighted His humanity, as He faced His final fate.  

We can take great strength from the Passion, as we see in it the essence of our Christian belief: the Suffering Servant, Jesus, our Messiah, Who went to His death to atone for the sins of all mankind (banished from the Kingdom by Adam’s fall) and opened the gates of Heaven for all believers.  The beginning of Holy Week leads us to fervent understanding of who we are as a people of God.  Without Christ’s Passion, death and Resurrection, our religion would be meaningless.  With it, and through it, however, we have the most dramatic example for our faith.  

May God Richly Bless You!

Today's Meditation Music:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.docx

To view a recording of today's Holy Mass, click here:

 

Edited March 23 by Father Michael