Weekly Reflections

Gospel Reflection Sunday March 24th 2024 – Palm Sunday
By Fr Brian Maher OMI

Sunday Gospel Relfection PALM SUNDAY 2024 MARCH 24TH

Gospel Reflection for Sunday March 24th 2024 | Palm Sunday

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this Sunday’s Gospel – the Passion story from Mark’s Gospel – began with the disclaimer we are used to seeing at the front of so many books we read: “…This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this Gospel are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.”

It would be wonderful because then we would know that we are reading a work of fiction, a story created in the writer’s imagination, where nobody in real life was injured or suffered in any way.

The trouble is that what we read or hear today is not a work of fiction. All of the events we read about actually happened to real, living, flesh and blood, people and yes, horrific injuries, absolute humiliation and agonising death are at the centre of the story.

We need, I think, to tell ourselves this as we set out on our journey through Holy Week. Most of us, through no fault of our own but simply as the result of repetition, have become so familiar with the story that most of it washes over us. We hear it, read it, look at the ‘Stations of the Cross’ on our Church walls, think about it and piously say our prayers…… but to what extent are we still impacted by the story?

The accounts of the last week in the life of Jesus differ in small ways in each Gospel. They were written at different times, in different places, with different audiences who had different questions and needs. All of these ‘differents’ mean they emphasise some parts of the story over others, omit small things which they feel are superfluous to the meaning of the story and change some small parts of the chronology of events to focus on what they deem to be essential to the story.

If the authors of the Gospels began by saying that they were writing a history or biography of the life of Jesus none of the things mentioned above (changes, omissions, chronology) would be acceptable and we would rightly complain that the stories have glaring holes, poor background research and even poorer editing.

But, and this is a huge ‘but’, the Gospels do not claim to be biographies or detailed histories Jesus’ life. The Gospel of Mark, for instance, begins, “The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”. What we are reading is unapologetically ‘Good News’ about a man who is also the “Son of God”. There is no attempt to prove it, or provide logical arguments leading to that conclusion. It is simply stated. This is it…read on and learn.

The Gospels are many things, but primarily they are teaching texts. Their aim is to give people who have already become Christians the background, words and deeds of Jesus so that they can themselves follow the example that he left them (us!).

And what is it that they are teaching? ‘Good News’ – a story of joy, hope and life. A story which tells us “that God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son so that those who believed in him might not perish but have eternal life.” They are writing a story of such force and drama that it began with creation and stretches to the ‘end of time’. (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) They are teaching a story of a ‘Good News’ that nothing – even suffering and death – can shatter.

Honestly, if this story does not have an impact on us, no story ever will.

The life of Jesus was filled with amazing and awe-inspiring ironies. How can a story which centres on the Cross, the Roman symbol for defeat, terror and ridicule, itself become a story of victory, joy and peace? What wonderful irony that what Pilate wrote mockingly on the cross of Jesus, “King of the Jews”, turned out to be a truth which would, in just a few hundred years, become the official truth of the Empire and then replace it.

It seems to me impossible to try to write a reflection on today’s Passion story from Mark’s Gospel. We all know the story too well and, as we often laugh, we know how it ends before we begin!

What I can maybe do is suggest an approach to reading it, a way of reading it with eyes that can see and ears that can hear.

Firstly, we must remind ourselves that the story comes with no disclaimers. It is not a work of fiction. It is true, and the central figure, Jesus, truly did, in all too vivid colour, suffer a death intended to bring absolute shame and total humiliation to those who suffered it.

Each day during Holy Week, again and again, over and over, we must remind ourselves that these events did happen and they have a significance for each one of us, if we dare to call ourselves Christian.

Next, we remind ourselves that the story of the Cross and Resurrection was written to teach us something. We must, therefore, be open to learning something new, or surprising, or challenging, or calming, or dramatic, or life-changing as we hear the Gospel read for us and as we move through Holy Week.

Finally, just as Jesus and his first followers responded to the needs of their world, we must allow the story of the Cross and Resurrection to speak to our world, and we must seek for ways to respond to its needs.

A suggestion might be to slowly read Chapters 1-8 of Mark’s Gospel during Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week. These chapters allow us to meet the Jesus who walked the trails of Israel with his companions. We can calmly see how he forgave, healed, told parables and prepared his disciples for the coming of the Kingdom of God.

On Wednesday and maybe Thursday, again slowly and peacefully, read chapters 9-13. From chapter 9 onwards we will notice more and more that Jesus talks to his companions about the Cross. As he moves towards Jerusalem it is as if he is preparing his disciples, and maybe himself too, for the inevitability of the Cross.

Then, from Thursday evening until Sunday move very slowly through chapters 14-16 (Passion, Death and Resurrection). If you can, attend the liturgies of the Last Supper, Passion and Death, and Resurrection, but don’t let the liturgy replace your reading of the Gospel. Allow Mark to teach you the “Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” After all, it is why he wrote his Gospel.

And remember at all times that what we are reading is a true story of a real person who willingly accepted death for us. His victory over death on Easter Sunday morning is our victory too. It is why we are, and must always be, a people of hope and joy and peace.

If Holy Week is only an annual remembering of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus as something that happened in the past, was great, and is now over, then we miss the entire meaning of Easter.

The whole meaning of Easter is that it is not in the past….it is here and now, happening every day in our lives and in the life of our world.

When we celebrate the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, and we watch him wash his disciples feet, we hear him say, “I leave you an example that you must follow…..” – that means today, tomorrow, next week….in my family, my workplace, my neighbourhood, my Parish, my Church.

When Jesus took bread and wine he said, “This is my body, this is my blood….” Jesus spoke in the present tense – ‘IS’ my body. In the Eucharist Jesus IS present to us, he is with us. Why? Because that’s what love does and God created us in love to share his life with him.

When we walk the way of the Cross with Jesus on Good Friday, we are walking with a person who takes on himself every betrayal we have ever had to bear, every pain we have even felt, every grief we have had to endure, and he does it all willingly. Why? Because that’s what love does and God created us in love.

And when, on Easter Sunday morning, going with Mary Magdalene to the tomb of Jesus, we meet a man who simply says our name and instantly we recognise him as Jesus, Risen from the dead, we are meeting a person who, every minute of every day, calls us by name wanting only that we recognise him as always being with us – not a dead memory but a living person. Why? Because that’s what love does and, no matter what happens to us the God of Love will triumph.

I think Pope Francis put it beautifully in ‘The Joy of the Gospel’: “I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress. (EG 6)

Or again he says, “However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew, it rises transformed through the storms of history.” (EG 276)

In every corner of our world, in every place, in every family, in every life, the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus happen over and over again. And every time they move to the same conclusion – Resurrection.

The Easter mystery is not something we are asked to remember. It is something we are asked to live.

The truth is that we are called to BE Easter in our lives, taking up our crosses with courage, but always knowing that they will lead to Resurrection.

We are an Easter people, a people of Joy, of hope and of life.

May the joy of Easter and the Risen Lord be with you wherever you are.

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie

Gospel Sunday March 24th, Palm Sunday | Mark 14:1-15:47

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

Key: N. Narrator.

Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

N. It was two days before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by some trick and have him put to death. For they said,

C. It must not be during the festivities, or there will be a disturbance among the people.

N. Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper; he was at dinner when a woman came in with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the ointment on his head. Some who were there said to one another indignantly,

C. Why this waste of ointment? Ointment like this could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.

N. and they were angry with her. But Jesus said,

Leave her alone. Why are you upsetting her? What she has done for me is one of the good works. You have the poor with you always, and you can be kind to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what was in her power to do: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. I tell you solemnly, wherever throughout all the world the Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told also, in remembrance of her.

N. Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, approached the chief priests with an offer to hand Jesus over to them. They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him money; and he looked for a way of betraying him when the opportunity should occur.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to him,

C. Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?

N. So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them,

Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, ‘The Master says: “Where is my dining room in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?”’ He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there.

N. The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

When evening came he arrived with the Twelve. And while they were at table eating, Jesus said,

I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me, one of you eating with me.

N. They were distressed and asked him, one after another,

C. Not I, surely?

N. He said to them,

It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping into the same dish with me. Yes, the Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!

N. And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them, saying:

Take it: this is my body.

N. Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them,

This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.

N. After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them,

You will all lose faith, for the scripture says: ‘I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’ However, after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee.

N. Peter said,

O. Even if all lose faith, I will not.

N. And Jesus said to him,

I tell you solemnly, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me three times.

N. But he repeated still more earnestly,

O. If I have to die with you, I will never disown you.

N. And they all said the same.

They came to a small estate called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples,

Stay here while I pray.

N. Then he took Peter and James and John with him. And a sudden fear came over him, and great distress. And he said to them,

My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here, and keep awake.

N. And going on a little further he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, this hour might pass him by. He said:

Abba (Father)! Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.

N. He came back and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter,

Simon, are you asleep? Had you not the strength to keep awake one hour? You should be awake, and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

N. Again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came back and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy; and they could find no answer for him. He came back a third time and said to them,

You can sleep on now and take your rest. It is all over. The hour has come. Now the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is close at hand already.

N. Even while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up with a number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the traitor had arranged a signal with them. He had said,

O. The one I kiss he is the man. Take him in charge, and see he is well guarded when you lead him away.

N. So when the traitor came, he went straight up to Jesus and said,

O. Rabbi!

N. and kissed him. The others seized him and took him in charge. Then one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.

Then Jesus spoke:

Am I a brigand, that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I was among you teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me. But this is to fulfil the scriptures.

N. And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.

They led Jesus off to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes assembled there. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the high priest’s palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at the fire.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any. Several, indeed, brought false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting. Some stood up and submitted this false evidence against him,

C. We heard him say, ‘I am going to destroy this Temple made by human hands, and in three days build another, not made by human hands.’

N. But even on this point their evidence was conflicting. The high priest then stood up before the whole assembly and put this question to Jesus,

O. Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?

N. But he was silent and made no answer at all. The high priest put a second question to him,

O. Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?

N. Jesus said,

I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.

N. The high priest tore his robes, and said:

O. What need of witnesses have we now? You heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?

N. And they all gave their verdict: he deserved to die.

Some of them started spitting at him and, blindfolding him, began hitting him with their fists and shouting,

C. Play the prophet!

N. And the attendants rained blows on him.

While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s servant-girls came up. She saw Peter warming himself there, stared at him and said,

O. You too were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.

N. But he denied it, saying.

O. I do not know, I do not understand, what you are talking about.

N. And he went out into the forecourt. The servant-girl saw him and again started telling the bystanders,

O. This fellow is one of them.

N. But again he denied it. A little later the bystanders themselves said to Peter,

C. You are one of them for sure! Why, you are a Galilean.

N. But he started calling down curses on himself and swearing,

O. I do not know the man you speak of.

N. At that moment the cock crew for the second time, and Peter recalled how Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me three times.’ And he burst into tears.

First thing in the morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes, in short the whole Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him:

O. Are you the king of the Jews?

N. He answered,

It is you who say it.

N. And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again:

O. Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!

N. But, to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply.

At festival time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, anyone they asked for. Now a man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rioters who had committed murder during the uprising. When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favour, Pilate answered them

O. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?

N. For he realised it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. The chief priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release Barabbas for them instead. Then Pilate spoke again:

O. But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?

N. They shouted back,

C. Crucify him!

N. Pilate asked them,

O. Why? What harm has he done?

N. But they shouted all the louder,

C. Crucify him!

N. So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, having ordered Jesus to be scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together. They dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him. And they began saluting him,

C. Hail, king of the Jews!

N. They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes.

They led him out to crucify him: they enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.

They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it. Then they crucified him, and shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge against him read: ‘The King of the Jews.’ And they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.

The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,

C. Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down from the cross!

N. The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. They said,

C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.

N. Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

N. which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard this, they said

C. Listen, he is calling on Elijah.

N. Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink, saying:

O. Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down.

N. But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

All kneel and pause for a moment.

And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said,

O. In truth this man was a son of God.

N. There were some women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joset, and Salome. These used to follow him and look after him when he was in Galilee. And there were many other women there who had come up to Jerusalem with him.

It was now evening, and since it was Preparation Day (that is, the vigil of the sabbath), there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent member of the Council, who himself lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, and he boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate, astonished that he should have died so soon, summoned the centurion and enquired if he was already dead. Having been assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph who bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were watching and took note of where he was laid.

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Weekly Reflections

Gospel Reflection Sunday March 24th 2024 – Palm Sunday
By Fr Brian Maher OMI

Gospel Sunday March 24th, Palm Sunday | Mark 14:1-15:47

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

Prayer Intentions