Scripture Reflection, March 16: Palm Sunday

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 50: 4-7
Psalm 22
Philippians 2: 6-11
Matthew 26:14-27:66

Click here to listen to the podcast of this scripture reflection.

Some years ago, there was a man in his middle twenties who was trying to figure out what to do with his life. He was struggling to decide about his own call in life, his vocation. This man was a person of faith who had a vague sense that God was calling him to something important. But he was not sure exactly what that vocation was to be. So he decided to make a retreat in order to think and pray about the direction his life should take.

During his time of retreat he kept a diary – a personal record of almost daily recordings of his thoughts and feelings. In his diary he recounted the ups and downs of this experience of time alone with God, moments when he felt the tremendous consolation of God’s closeness, as well as other times in which he felt rather alone and confused. This young man did not receive a precise blueprint for his life during that time of retreat. But he did receive one essential insight. He became convinced that he should remember the passion and death of Jesus throughout his life. He was inspired to keep the memory of the passion of Jesus in his heart and mind. He recorded this insight and he described the passion of Jesus as “the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” As it turned out, this was a phrase that he would often repeat as the years went on. For this young man, the memory of Jesus’ passion was not a sad or morbid recollection. It was a memory that gave him life and which brought home to him again and again the reality and the power of God’s saving love. In fact, it was this memory that inspired him to go forward with his life to live out the journey on which God would continue to lead him.

That retreat took place in Italy in the early 1720's. The man who made it and who wrote those words was named Paul Danei, known later as Saint Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist community. The charism, the special gift of the Holy Spirit, which was given to Paul was this memory of the passion of Jesus. It was a memory which he hoped that all Christians would treasure in their hearts and foster in the hearts and minds of others. As we enter into Holy Week this Sunday, the entire Church takes this special time to make memory of the suffering and death of the one we know as Savior and Lord

Listening to the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, as we do on Palm Sunday, certainly has an element of sadness to it. It is not an easy story to hear. It reminds us not only of what happened to Jesus, but also of the tragic moments and events in life that take place around us and in our own lives at times. With the violence we read about in the newspapers every morning, as well as the suffering we witness among family members and other loved ones, this story of the passion is not foreign to any of us. We find ourselves immersed in it in a very real way. Each one of us participates in the reality of Jesus’ passion at critical moments throughout our lives.

In the midst of this experience, the memory of the passion of the Lord is not meant to make us more sad or somber. It is not intended to add to the burdens we already carry in life. Rather, you and I are called to gaze on the cross of Jesus – to enter into the story of the passion -- in order to strengthen our conviction of God’s tremendous love for us and his compassionate solidarity with us. In the words of Paul of the Cross, what we contemplate is in fact the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s charity. It was the act through which God’s saving love was manifested and effected for us and for all people. We believe that the accusing words of the religious leaders, the condemnatory words of Pontius Pilate, the scornful words of the passersby, were not the final word. We believe that the final word belongs to the living God, the God who brought life out of death for Jesus and who continues to do that for us. This is the God whose charity is so powerful that it is able to raise the dead. We profess our faith in the God who brings light to those who are entombed in darkness.

It is easy to talk about the love of God, even to wax eloquent about it. But all of that talk can become very abstract and ethereal. We realize that in real life love is often a difficult, messy thing. It is filled with struggle, pain, and moments of real darkness. When we gaze upon the cross of Jesus, there we see God’s love revealed to us in the concrete, in flesh and blood. We perceive with our own eyes the lengths to which God would go to reach out to us, to redeem us and raise us up.

I would like to encourage our Catholics on Call family to take some time this week to reflect on the passion of Jesus. Pray before the crucifix, put yourself there at the foot of the cross. In that place, allow Jesus to say to you, “This is how much I love you.” May we never lose the memory of Jesus’ passion, never forget the depths of God’s love for us in Christ. And as we gaze on his cross, may we also look with renewed compassion on those around us who may be suffering. May we reach out to those who know very personally the reality of the cross in their own lives. Empowered by the love of God, may we offer them the strength and consolation of the crucified and risen Christ.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp