Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Palm Sunday

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 04.10.22 | Aux. Bishop R. Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Luke 22:14–23:56

Friends, how dark are the readings for Palm Sunday! We read through Luke’s Passion narrative, leaving out the good news of the Resurrection.
To get to the bottom of this emphasis on suffering, to decipher its religious meaning,
is to uncover the theological significance of this day.

Do you remember the first time that life really knocked you around? It might have been an extraordinary failure;
it might have been the first time you confronted real violence or real hatred;
it might have been a massive disappointment; it might have been the death of someone that you loved.
This mess, this problem, bedevils all of us.

The biblical approach is clear: God sets about a rescue operation—
the formation of a holy people Israel who would follow his commands,
worship him aright, and thereby become a magnet to the world.
They would teach and show the way out of the dilemma.

He would form a people ready to receive him; he would gradually effect a unity between divinity and humanity;
and one day, a servant of Yahweh would appear, someone despised and reviled by men.
And this mysterious figure would solve the problem by bearing away the sins of the world, by carrying them off through his suffering.

[MurphsLaw]

+++When the hour came, Jesus took his place at table with
the apostles.
He said to them,
“I have eagerly desired to eat this
Passover with you before I suffer,
for, I tell you,
I shall not eat it again
until there is fulfillment in the
kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup,
gave thanks, and said,
“Take this and share it among
yourselves;
for I tell you
that from this time on
I shall not drink of the fruit of
the vine,
until the kingdom of God comes.”
Then he took the bread, said the
blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them,
saying,
“This is my body, which will be
given for you;
do this in memory of me.”
And likewise the cup after
they had eaten, saying,
in my blood,
which will be shed for you.+++