Entering Jerusalem

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion April 5, 2009

Gospel of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-10)

When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, 'Why are you doing this?' reply, 'The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'"

So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it.

So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!"

Gospel (Mk 15:1-39)

As soon as morning came, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

He said to him in reply, "You say so."

The chief priests accused him of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of."

Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested. A man called Barabbas was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed.

Pilate answered, "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.

Pilate again said to them in reply, "Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?"

They shouted again, "Crucify him."

Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Crucify him."

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. They brought him to the place of Golgotha which is translated Place of the Skull. They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take.

It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross."

Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "Look, he is calling Elijah."

One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."

Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

The two Gospel readings we hear today present contrasting scenes. In the first, we hear of how Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem amidst shouts of "Hosanna!" But in the second, we hear of how He was presented to Pilate amidst shouts of "Crucify him!"

Jesus boldly entered Jerusalem, knowing that He will face His final hours there. Despite the praise He was receiving as He entered, He knew what was to come. The people themselves shouted about the "kingdom of David" that is to come. But only Jesus knew what will be happening. He was there for His hour had come. He bravely faced Jerusalem - the place where He is to suffer and die for the salvation of man. He faced all this because of His love for us.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, we too enter into Holy Week. As we commemorate the suffering and death of the Lord during these holy days, we are reminded of His great love for us and we feel sorrow for our sins because we realize how much it cost Jesus to save us. As Jesus bravely entered the place where He would die, we are all called to enter into a life of self-giving love, a life free from sin and worldly passions. This call is not only for Holy Week, but for our entire lives.

In the Gospel narrative of Jesus' Passion, we hardly hear any words from Jesus. He did not defend Himself nor complained that it was too much. He graciously accepted His suffering and death though He was innocent. Pilate himself knew that Jesus did nothing wrong. Jesus was blameless and was thus the perfect Victim - the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Like Jesus, we too are called to stand for the truth, to be blameless even amidst difficult situation. He Himself said that those who are persecuted because of Him are truly blessed.

As the world hated Jesus, so the world will hate us (Jn 15:18). But we must not be afraid. We must remain faithful to our Christian calling and not succumb to the ways of the world to save our lives. Like Jesus, we must be courageous. If we have to face suffering just to stand up for what is true, then we must. We should never compromise to save our lives, for whoever loves His life loses it (Jn 12:25).

As we commemorate today Jesus' entry into the Jerusalem of His Passion, we too, enter into where God wills us to be. May we not be afraid to be obedient to God's will despite the difficulties. And may our faithfulness to our God become stronger and last not just until this week ends, but our whole life through.

Jesus' Hour

5th Sunday of Lent Mar. 25, 2012 (Jn 12:20-33)

Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name."

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again."

The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks of the suffering and death that He was about to face. He explained the idea behind these things to come; He explained how a death can actually be life-giving. In this Gospel passage, we are reminded of the richness and depth of the Paschal Mystery which we will celebrate come Holy Week.

Jesus' suffering was redemptive. And Jesus makes it clear that our sacrifice and suffering can bear much fruit and be life-giving too. When we do good for others, we share our life with them. Even if we do not die to save other people, reaching out to them and trying to help them out makes us true disciples of Jesus who lived and died for others. Like the Greeks in today's Gospel, we also wish to see Jesus. But seeing and experiencing Christ will never be complete unless we become true Christians who are willing to follow Jesus.

The hour of Jesus' glory is the hour of His being lifted up on the cross. That is the moment of His triumph over sin and death. That hour is the hour of His total obedience to the Father. We too are called to that obedience. Our whole lives must be a witness to the glory of the Father.

As we are about to experience the celebration of Jesus' Paschal Mystery, may we learn to appreciate and meditate on the meaning of suffering and self-denial. Further, may we be true disciples of Jesus by faithfully following His example of sacrifice and obedience.

Now That's Love!

4th Sunday of Lent Mar. 18, 2012 (Jn 3:14-21)

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

In our Gospel for today, we are reminded of the reason Jesus came into the world - because of love. God loves us and wants us to be saved; hence, Jesus became man. The well known Gospel passage says it perfectly: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (Jn 3:16)."

The First Reading (2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23) tells us that even though the leaders, the priests and the people of Judah were committing sins against Him, God still showed them great love and mercy by sending them prophets to lead them back to Him. But they did not listen to the prophets, so they were exiled to Babylon. But even there, God's love and mercy was upon them. After years of captivity, the Lord saved them and brought them back through Cyrus.

Our Gospel today shows us how God went so much further in showing us His love. If in the Old Testament, He sent prophets and made King Cyrus an instrument to liberate His people, in the New Testament, God sends us His Beloved Son Jesus. In fact, it was God Himself, the Second Person of the Trinity, who came to the world as man - all for our salvation. That is how much God loves us. As the Second Reading (Eph 2:4-10) emphasizes, even when we were in sin, He showed His great love in giving us Jesus for our salvation. It's already generous of God to give His Son, but to give Jesus to us undeserving sinners? That is God's love.

This mercy and love of God, although great and unfathomable, are not forced upon us. As the Gospel said, God's loving salvation requires our response. To be saved, we must believe in Jesus and in His salvation. Believing in Jesus consists of knowing, loving and serving Him, not simply confessing that we believe in Him but living a life contrary to what He preached. Believing in Jesus means coming to Him with deeds of light, putting off the evil deeds we used to hide in the dark.

As people who believe in God and in the redemption Jesus brought about, we are also called to imitate God's great love to the best of our abilities. The Lenten invitation to give alms is an echo of the challenge for us to live in love. We may not be able to die for the sake of others, but Jesus invites us to live for them. In a way, that is already life-giving. As St. Paul would put it, we must let Christ live in us. (Gal 2:20)

As we continue in our Lenten journey towards Easter joy, we rejoice as we are given a great hope. We are not left alone in our journey to come back to God. Knowing that we cannot save our own selves, God gave us His Son. And this is the Good News we rejoice for. We need only to do our part - to believe in Him, to love Him and to serve Him in loving others.

Overturning Tables

3rd Sunday of Lent Mar. 11, 2012 (Jn 2:13-25)

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples recalled the words of scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me." At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

Jesus' message is nothing petty; His is a radical one, a call to a complete change. His fellow Jews have corrupted their relationship with God. They took their covenant with God for granted. Still under the guise of practicing religion and obeying the law, they have actually turned away from a pure and faithful covenant with God.

The purification of the temple from vendors and money-changers who cheated the people is Jesus' way of reminding the Jews of the importance of a pure and faithful relationship with God. The complicated morality they have developed have led them to superficiality and unfaithfulness to God. Jesus wanted to "overturn" this.

Sometimes, like the Jews, we also tend to hide our sins under the guise of religion or of goodness. Sometimes we feel our relationship with God is merely going to Mass and praying. We don't care anymore if we sin because we pray anyway. Or sometimes, we use good deeds or good intentions as justifications for our wrongdoings. We think it is alright to cheat or to steal because we help other people anyway. We think it is acceptable to step on other people because it's for our success anyway. This way of thinking is of the world, not of God.

Jesus wants to overturn this attitude. In our First Reading (Ex 20:1-17), we are pointed back to the basics - to the Ten Commandments of God. If we want to purify ourselves from the filth of a confused and deceptive perception of what is good, we must go back to God's law. We should not try to escape from God's law; neither should we try to go around it. We should submit ourselves to what God has legislated and be faithful to it. Only then can we be free from all sin, especially from sin disguised as obedience.

The obedience that Jesus showed us in giving His life for our salvation is the perfect example of true obedience. According to our Second Reading (1 Cor 1:22-25), God's wisdom is not acceptable to the world. The world considers it foolish that Jesus, God Himself, should sacrifice His own life for men. But this foolishness of God is wisdom that is so much wiser than human wisdom. And as Christians, we subscribe to God's wisdom, which is embodied in Jesus. The world considers wise those who cheat their way to success, those who do everything in their power to gain wealth, power and fame. But as Christians, what we consider to be wisdom is complete obedience to God, even to the point of having to sacrifice.

This Lenten season, Jesus invites us to overturn our tables. He invites us to return to God and to His law, completely overturning the false teachings of this world. May we come to see what is true and good and may we realize and find in our lives the wisdom of God.

Beloved of the Father

2nd Sunday of Lent Mar. 4, 2012 (Mk 1:12-15)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Just as our Lenten journey will conclude in the glory of Easter, so our life journey is directed to eternal life with God. The Transfiguration of Jesus shows us that our goal is a glorious life with God. This glorious moment on the mountain is a foretaste of the glory of Easter and of the life that awaits us as beloved sons of God.

But aside from showing us our destination, the Transfiguration also shows us our way - Jesus Himself. On the mountain, the Father calls Jesus His Beloved Son and commands us to listen to Jesus. Jesus is our brother who came to the world not only to die for our sins, but also to live a life that we ought to imitate. In His own life, Jesus showed us how to live as true children of the Father.

As we take this Lenten journey, Jesus should be our model and His Word should be our inspiration. We should follow His example of sacrifice, service and prayer. We should reflect on the Gospel, His story and His words, ever more deeply. We must learn to live as Jesus did.

Only in following Jesus' example of carrying the cross can we ever get to our glorious destination. Jesus descended from the mountain and faced the sufferings that awaited Him in Jerusalem. So too must we face the trials of everyday life, living as Jesus did, especially now as we try to change our lives this Lent.

Only in making that successful journey in following Jesus' way can we find the glory that was revealed in Jesus' Transfiguration. Then we could find the transfigured Jesus, with ourselves also transfigured, beloved of the Father.