LECTIONARY READINGS
First reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm: 21(22):8-9, 17-20, 23-24
Second reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56
Link to readings
INTRODUCTION
There is so much Scripture to read today – not to mention the blessing of Palms and procession – that any homily will have to be very brief. I offer a few thoughts on the Gospel of the Entry, the First and Second Readings, and finally the distinctive features of the Passion according to St Luke.
First, the Gospel of the Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-40). What is distinctive about this in Luke is the fact that the acclamation of Jesus as messianic King – and therefore as the one rightfully taking possession of David’s city – stems largely from his own disciples. Their acclamation both echoes and inverts that of the heavenly choirs who announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds (2:13-14). The angelic choirs sang, “Peace on earth”; the human community Jesus has formed respond, “Peace in heaven”. Jesus comes to Jerusalem (the “City of Peace”) but he brings it a peace that is different from that which prevails in a purely political sense. It is a peace grounded in God (‘heaven’) and God’s action, a peace that will meet with rejection from those who interests it threatens. This challenge begins in the nervous response of the Pharisees to the disciples’ acclamation.
FIRST READING
Isaiah 50:4-9
The First Reading set down for the Mass, Isa 50:4-9, is the third of the Songs of the Servant of the Lord, each of which will be read during Holy Week, culminating in the reading of the last and greatest, Isa 52:13 – 53:12, on Good Friday. These four texts, in which the personal fate of the prophet and that of Israel are mysteriously intertwined, have from the beginning been central to Christian interpretation of Jesus’ passion and death. They provided the 'script' for the otherwise totally unforeseen sufferings of the Messiah (Luke 24:27, 44-45; Acts 8:30-35). They show how precisely as a suffering rather than a triumphant figure he fulfills God’s purpose to save the world.
SECOND READING
Phil 2:6-11
In the Second Reading, Phil 2:6-11, St Paul quotes what seems to be a hymn from an early Christian liturgy. The sense of Christ’s status – divine and human – that emerges at this early time is quite remarkable. What the hymn points to is that at three stages of his “career” – pre-incarnate, incarnate up to death, and post-resurrection – the disposition of Christ is to pour himself out in self-emptying love. The “obedience unto death” displayed in the passion is continuous with the outpouring of love that led to the incarnation of the one whose nature was divine. The hymn thus provides the essential accompaniment to our consideration of the Passion of Jesus throughout Holy Week: behind every word, gesture and suffering is the outreach of divine love to an alienated world.
GOSPEL
Luke 22:14 – 23:56
St Luke’s account of the Passion does not dwell on the details of Jesus’ suffering to the extent that the starker accounts of Mark and Matthew do. A principal concern of Luke is to establish and proclaim Jesus’ innocence. His execution on the charge of being a pretended messianic troublemaker is shown to be a monstrous miscarriage of justice. Jesus is the Messiah, yes. But he is a Messiah who brings peace (19:42). The kingdom that he would bring is not one where those who exercise authority lord it over others, as among pagan authorities (22:25-27). It is a kingdom of service, whose sole aim is reconciliation (with God) and the enhancement of human life. Disciples who reach for their swords are told to put them away (22:49-51). Even as he is nailed to the cross Jesus prays forgiveness for those who torment him (23:34).
So the central issue of the Passion is the kind of Messiah Jesus is and the nature of the salvation he brings. “Save yourself” is the cry coming from three parties who mock him on Calvary: the leaders, the soldiers, one of the thieves crucified with him. What they mean by “save” is “Get yourself (“and us” in the case of the thief) down from these crosses”.
Alone, the good thief perceives that Jesus brings salvation of a different kind: not present rescue from death but a reconciliation with God opening the way to sharing in the Kingdom. His simple plea, “Jesus, remember me ...”, meets with the majestic assurance: “This day (not in some vague future) you will be with me in Paradise,” an intermediate state of blessedness preparatory to the full arrival of the Kingdom). It is the perspective and the faith of this good thief that all readers of the Passion are invited to share. Discipleship will not exempt them from death – it will in fact require a daily dying (9:23) that may in some circumstances (persecution, injustice) become all too real.
The Passion is an assurance that all who embark upon such a life are companions with Jesus on his journey to the Father (23:46).