29-Mar-2009
Dear Friend,
Life is a mixture and a blend of the good and the bad, the ugly and the
beautiful, success and failure, blessings and disaster. While we want to enjoy
the bright side of life we do everything in our power to avoid the darker side.
We cannot have one without the other. There can be no crown without the cross.
Jesus accepted his human condition and all that life entailed, with open hands,
the ‘Hosannas’ and the ‘Crucify Him!’ Are we ready to follow Him? ‘Have a
blessed Holy Week’! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Passion Sunday ‘Hosanna Son of David! Humble Unto Death!’
5-Apr-2009
Procession Gospel Mk. 11: 1-10; Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark
14: 1-15: 47;
Hosanna to the Son of David!
All four Gospels narrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. When
Jesus asked his disciples to set him on a colt on which no one had sat he
invited his disciples to think of the prophecy. When he decided to enter
Jerusalem as he did, instead of going there on foot as pilgrims did, he must
have brought to their minds the prophecy. All this happened on the Mount of
Olives, which again had messianic significance for the Jews of his day. Yet
Jesus’ entry was quite different, humble and on a donkey’s back. As we begin
Holy Week we see contradictions at work between triumph and tragedy, and
between rejoicing and rejection. We begin on a keynote of celebration with
blessed palms and procession, in the reading of the Passion the dominant note
is sadness. Palm Sunday should solidify our hope because life will prevail.
Fear Conquered
Gilbert Frankau tells the story of a friend of his who was an artillery officer
in World War I. In those days there was no radar to guide artillery fire to its
target. Shells were simply lobbed over hills and trees, much as one heaves a
rock at a target. Sometimes a soldier was sent up in a hot-air balloon to give
directions to the gunners. He’d yell down to them. “A little to the left” or “A
little to the right.” “Whenever I went up in that balloon,” said Frankau’s
friend, “I was frightened. I was a perfect target for enemy gunfire, and I knew
it. I never got over my fear. But I never let my fear keep me on the ground.”
That story will help us appreciate better the gospel passage we just read.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
Today’s first reading is from the third servant song of Second Isaiah. The
situation presupposes that Israel in exile is rejecting the prophet’s message.
The people are weary of constantly hearing predictions of deliverance when
nothing seems to happen. The prophet suffers in carrying out his mission, but
is sustained by the firm belief that God will not abandon him. God has given
him the word and he must deliver it, even at the cost of personal suffering. He
believes that God will eventually prove him right. This prophecy would be
ultimately fulfilled in Jesus’ passion and death.
I Have Already Died
Henri Nouwen tells of a Lutheran Bishop who was imprisoned in a German
concentration camp during World War II and beaten by an SS Officer in order to
extract a confession from him about his political action. The beatings
continued to increase in intensity, but the bishop maintained his silence.
Finally, the infuriated officer shrieked, “Don’t you know that I can kill
you?” The bishop looked into the eyes of his torturer and said, “Yes, I know
–do what you want – but I have already died.” Instantly as though paralyzed,
the officer could no longer raise his arm, it was as if power over the bishop
had been taken from him. All his cruelties had been based on the assumption
that the bishop’s physical life was his most precious possession and therefore
he would be willing to make any concession to save it. But with the grounds for
violence gone, torture was futile.
Anthony Castle in ‘More Quotes and Anecdotes’
It is widely accepted that this passage in the second reading is a pre Pauline
hymn to Christ. Jesus Christ, the subject of this poem is in the form of God,
the word ‘form’ indicates the divine sphere, space in which Jesus lived. Jesus
did not snatch this honour nor hold on to the glorious condition that was his
by right. Instead he emptied himself through the incarnation. He renounced his
Godhead and took the condition of a slave in comparison to his right as Lord.
Today we are reminded that Jesus took upon himself the total condition of
humanity and became like us in all things but sin so that he might redeem us.
But from the depths God exalted and granted the title ‘Lord’ of all things in
heaven and on earth.
A Selfish or Selfless Life……
In the Arabian Knights you will remember the story of the magnetic islands.
These islands were so magnetic that when ships came near them they were
wrecked. They were not drawn upon the rocks and dashed to pieces, nor was there
any sudden explosion. These islands were simply so magnetic that that they drew
all the nails and bolts out of the ship and it fell to pieces. –This is the
test self-sacrifice applies to every life. When a life has been lived on the
principle of selfishness, as the years go by, sacrifice applies this test and
that life falls to pieces and comes to sorrow. As the sieve of life moves
constantly, the little things slip through and there is nothing left of a
selfish life. I challenge you to name any person who has attained any permanent
degree of happiness who has not lived a life of self-denial.
Charles F. Banning in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’
The Gospels are not biographies of Jesus; the passion is written that we might
believe that Jesus is the Son of God. In the passion narrative the final act of
the drama has begun. The Son of Man must suffer many things. In his account of
the Passion, Mark stresses the crude trial and the shocking details of Jesus’
suffering. During his life on earth Jesus had gone about doing good, preaching,
teaching and healing, He was accepted and surrounded by crowds who listened and
sought things from him, But when he was handed over to the enemies by one of
his very own no one came to his rescue. He was abandoned, rejected and that’s
when his passion began. From that moment he was no longer in control of what
was happening. Things were now done to him rather than by him. He was arrested,
put in prison, led before Caiphas, Herod and Pilate, interrogated, mocked,
ridiculed, scourged, crowned with thorns, given a cross to carry, stripped of
his clothes, nailed to
the cross and finally he died. Jesus fulfilled his mission not only by what he
did, but also and more especially by what was done to him –by his passion. He
was not abandoned by the Father, he was not a victim but he chose to suffer and
died voluntarily. He gave his life. Much of our lives are determined more by
what is done to us than by what we chose to do: in a very real sense this is
our passion. It is this passion if we can genuinely accept it, as well as our
actions, that lead to salvation. The passion story shows how Jesus responded to
what was done to him. He absorbed all the violence, he transformed it, and
returned it as love and forgiveness. He did not react but he responded with
love. This is the victory of love over all the powers of destruction. Even
when he was nailed to the Cross he was still loving and forgiving.
He Bore Our Sins
It was early November and the leaves from the trees that lined the streets lay
scattered on the ground. Each household was expected to gather its own leaves
into plastic bags for removal by the refuse collectors. That at least was the
idea. Now – using the leaves as a symbol of sin – let’s see how things worked
out. A few people didn’t bother at all. They saw the leaves fall and cover
lawn, flower beds, and driveway. They saw them begin to rot and foul the air
with their stench. But they walked over them every day as if they never
existed. There are people for whom there is no such thing as sin. Herod was one
of these. One man swept the leaves off his lawn and driveway out onto the
street. There they became an unsightly mess and created a hazard for drivers.
But he couldn’t care less. Let someone else clean up the mess. He reminds us of
those who blame others for their sins. Pilate, the soldiers and the crowd would
fit into this category. Most
people took care of their own leaves, but wouldn’t dream of taking a leaf off
a neighbour’s lawn. That was his territory and his responsibility. These stand
for the people who accept responsibility for their own sins. Peter is an
example. Finally there was one remarkable man. He not only collected the leaves
off his own lawn, but collected leaves off the street also. And he did so
quietly and without complaining. He reminds us a little of Christ, who died for
the sins of all. What makes Christ unique is the fact that he alone was
sinless. During the communist era, the poet, Irina Ratushinkaya, spent some
time in Russia’s bleak labour camps. She says, ‘The best way to retain your
humanity in the camps was to care more about another’s pain than your own.’
Compassion is not learned without suffering.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holyday Liturgies’
“The narrative of the passion read today is certainly the early kernel of our
gospels. Careful to show that Christianity was no rebellious or criminal
movement, the evangelist highlights the plot that led to the death of Jesus,
the innocent Servant sacrificed for sinners. For the Jewish people the
conformity of his death with the scriptures is demonstrated not only by the
central event of the passion itself, but also by its details. The historical
framework of the crucifixion set into the Jewish celebration of the Pasch is of
particular significance. There is the sacrifice, a new rite of the covenant
which is to replace the immolation of the lamb. And for Christians there is the
exemplary value of prayer, lowliness, suffering and endurance –all of which
went to the perfectioning of Jesus’ human nature. In the light of the cross,
other elements of faith are emphasized: the relationship of Jesus with Judaism;
the origin and the nature of the
Church’s mission; the role of the apostles in general, and that of Peter in
particular. These varying accounts of the evangelists cannot be reduced to a
mere listing of events. Stamped by the personality of each evangelist, each
forms a unified narrative of which the dominant theme is the mastery of God
over the assaults of evil, an evil which reached an apex in the passion of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” -Glenstal Bible Missal
Ready to Die that Others May Live
There was a report of a coal mining accident. Many miners escaped with their
lives, but three men were trapped somewhere deep within the earth’s crust.
Whether they were dead or alive no one knew. What made the accident even more
frustrating was the presence of intense heat and noxious gases within the mine
itself. If the rocks had not crushed them, they very well would have been
asphyxiated by the fumes or killed by the heat. Two days went by before a
search expedition was allowed to even enter the mine because of heat and fumes.
Even then there was a great danger in store for anyone who would dare descend
into what could be a deep black grave. A brief interview was conducted with one
of the members of the search expedition as he was preparing to enter the mine.
A reporter asked him, “Sir, are you aware of the noxious gases and the extreme
danger of the mines.” The fireman replied, “Yes, I am aware.” The reporter
asked again,” Are you still
going down?” And the man replied, “The men may still be alive.” Without
another word of explanation he put on his gas mask, climbed into the elevator
and descended into the black inferno of the mine. That rescuer put his life on
the line that others might live. That’s what Jesus did – by entering Jerusalem,
He put his life on the line that others might have life.
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
The Tragedy and Triumph
In 1978 President Anwar Sadar of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin shared
the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was given to them for their joint efforts to
reduce Mideast hostilities by framing and signing the U.S. –Mediated Camp David
Peace accord. The agreement was an unprecedented move on Sadat’s part because
he was the first major Arab leader to accept Israel’s existence as a sovereign
state. Only five years earlier, in 1973, he was hailed as a hero for
successfully sending Egyptian troops across the Suez Canal to recapture
Israeli-occupied territories. But in 1978 Sadat was called a traitor by Arab
radicals. President Sadat was assassinated by some of these Arab extremists in
1981. Ironically, he was killed while viewing a parade to celebrate the
anniversary of the 1973 battle that had made him an Arab hero. The life and
death of Anwar Sadat suggest some striking similarities to the life and death
of Jesus, similarities that stand out on
Palm Sunday. For both Sadat and Jesus had loyal followers who acclaimed them,
but also enemies who eventually killed them. Both men entered their final scene
to sounds of triumph, only to depart from it on a note of tragedy.
Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’
May we through the passion of Christ find healing and strength to follow Him!
Fr. Jude Botelho
nisc...@vsnl.com
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my remodelled web
site www.netforlife.net Thank you.
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