Year A – Palm Sunday and of the Passion of the Lord
Matthew 21:1–11 (Blessing of the palms)
Matthew 26:14–27:66 (Passion of the Lord)
“On this day the Church commemorates Christ the Lord who enters Jerusalem to accomplish his paschal mystery,” says a liturgical note. With Palm Sunday and of the Passion of the Lord we begin Holy Week, also called the Great Week.
This Sunday has two aspects, that is, two clearly distinct parts. The first: the rite of the palms, followed by the procession, marked by joy and enthusiasm. The second: the Eucharist, with the proclamation of the Passion, characterised by sorrow, failure and death.
Palm Sunday: the donkey and its colt
Meditating on the Gospel of the blessing of the palms (Matthew 21:1–11), we turn our attention to two unusual protagonists: the donkey and its colt.
The messianic identity of Christ calls for a profound change of mindset. For this reason Jesus takes up a forgotten messianic prophecy, which presents a humble and gentle Messiah who prefers the donkey, a beast of burden, to the horse: “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Zechariah 9:9). Jesus is the Messiah who bears our burdens on the cross: “He has taken our infirmities and borne our sufferings” (Isaiah 53:4). Consequently, the Christian too is called to do the same: “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). With a touch of provocation, Silvano Fausti states: “For the whole law of Christ is the law of the donkey”.
Thus, the colt beside the donkey can represent the disciple, that is, each one of us, called to learn from the Master.
Italian theologian Paolo Scquizzato comments in this regard:
“When Christianity, the Church, each one of us, knowing that the only way of existence is to live like the donkey, begins to flirt with the ‘world’, with the kings and the powerful of the earth, desiring to live and be like them through power, wealth and success, then a kind of tragic hybridisation will take place. We, made to live like donkeys, will join with the horse, which has always symbolised worldly power, and the result will be that we find ourselves like mules, animals that are foolish but above all sterile.”
To interiorise the account of the Passion
From the joy of the messianic entry we now move to the dramatic heart of the Passion.
This account is the oldest part of the Gospels, and we could say it is their backbone. The four evangelists follow the same outline. However, each has his own way of telling it, with different theological and catechetical perspectives and with particular details in their narrative. Saint Matthew emphasises the fulfilment of the Scriptures, especially of the “Suffering Servant” of the prophet Isaiah and Psalm 21 (22). Jesus, before becoming the proclaimed Word, listens to and fulfils the Scripture (Isaiah 50:5).
Here are three points for reflection on Saint Matthew’s account of the Passion:
- The Lord wants to celebrate Passover with me!
“Go into the city to a certain man and say to him: ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples’.” A certain man: the anonymity may lead us to think that this man is me! The Lord wants to celebrate Passover with me. He does not come alone, but with his own! What must I do to welcome him? - My role in this drama?
One way of approaching this long account is to focus on each character who appears in this drama (there are many: around thirty, counting both groups and individuals!) and ask ourselves in whom we see ourselves reflected. Each of us has a role in this drama. Every person involved plays a part in which the Scripture is fulfilled. Which word is fulfilled in me? - “De-crucifying” God!
The Passion reveals the true face of God. We have made God into a Pharaoh enthroned beyond the stars… and made human beings the subject, the servant, the slave of this God.
Maurice Zundel (1897–1975), one of the greatest mystical writers of the last century, says:
“There is an infinite distance between the account of Genesis and that of the agony of Jesus. The garden of Eden and the garden of Gethsemane are two gardens in which the face of God appears in an extremely different light… In Genesis, evil was disobedience to a command issued by a Sovereign Authority. In the garden of the agony, evil is a mortal wound inflicted on Someone who is defenceless, who cannot defend himself because he is only Love… because he is only Love, to the point of seeking from his disciples a compassion that he does not find, for they are asleep” (from a conference on 1/11/1967).
This reality leads Maurice Zundel to say that “it is no longer a matter of saving humanity, but of saving God” and of “de-crucifying” him, of taking God down from the cross, as Saint Francis wished to do. How can we do this? By working to free today’s crucified ones from the injustice that oppresses them.
In conclusion…
We enter the heart of the liturgical year. After forty days of preparation, we are about to celebrate the mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus (the Paschal Triduum). A “tremendous” and ineffable mystery, dark and luminous, before which we remain stunned and incredulous: “Who has believed our message?” (Isaiah 53:1). The Church and her children live this week as a “spiritual retreat”, in recollection and prayer, in deep and intimate communion with their Lord.
A blessed beginning of Holy Week, the heart of our faith!
Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ
Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word
