Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Today's Mass Readings

Many years ago, I took a class in which a priest instructed us to write on a piece of paper “All the things for which we would be willing to sacrifice our life.” When we completed the exercise, the priest informed us that he wanted us to look at the list we had prepared not as a reflection on death, but as a list of the reasons why we are living – a list of those things that gave our lives meaning and purpose: the things we really love. Today’s readings recount the events surrounding the Passion of our Lord. The willing sacrifice of his life so that we could be reconciled with God. Although it is beyond our ability to fully grasp, the description of Jesus’ suffering provides a means for appreciating the depth of his love for us. As we know, Jesus’ death was not quick or easy. Imagine the depth of the love that would be required to endure the suffering of the scourging at the pillar, the crowing with thorns, the carrying of the cross, the mockery of the crowd, the crucifixion and death. Suffering that, in part, was endured for the very benefit of those inflicting it. Moreover, this was not something that was unexpected, but something that Jesus anticipated and over which his human nature agonized. Yet, Jesus willingly accepts all these things that ultimately lead to his death on our behalf.

Today’s Gospel reading also includes the institution of the Eucharist. At every mass, the Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of the cross and invites us to contemplate the depth of Christ’s offering of himself to God the Father through the Passion. But as Christians, who are one body in Christ, we are invited to participate on a personal level in the representation of Christ’s sacrifice at the mass. If we apply the concept of “offering up” the challenges and difficulties that may be present in each of our lives, being guided by the example of Jesus, we may begin to see these challenges and difficulties as individual crosses to bear, which by embracing, ultimately bring us closer to Christ.

In the class I mentioned earlier, the priest had conducted the exercise of having students make a list for years, and I recall that he remarked on the consistent absence of inanimate objects from these. Cars, homes, clothes . . . the things that we put so much effort into obtaining never seemed to be on the list, while family, friends and other people were always represented. If through our participation in the Eucharist, we grow closer to Christ through contemplating his Passion, it seems inevitable that we will gain a deeper understanding of the profound nature of Christ’s love for us, and a deeper understanding of his expectations for our interactions with others. As Jesus provided, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12)

- John Sperino