Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Lk 19:28-40; Is 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14 – 23:56
After two years of disruption, we may find unexpected delight in this Sunday’s festive procession-by-all. The smell of fresh palm fronds pressed into our hands, the feel of curly strings tickling our fingers, the shimmer of holy water soaring through the air help to focus our imagination on the noisy, crowded streets of Jerusalem.
We hear in Luke’s account how Jesus’ actions evoke the Messianic expectation spelled out in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.”
Bringing this prophetic image to life, Jesus enters Jerusalem humbly, as the joyful clamor of “the whole multitude of his disciples” erupts around him.
Similarly, Jesus embodies Isaiah’s suffering servant, the central figure of today’s first reading. In his preaching and teaching, Jesus uses his “well-trained tongue” to “speak to the weary,” and his words indeed “rouse them” to faith and devotion to God’s reign.
Those with much to lose are also roused — to unbelief and violent resistance to this threatening “first shall be last” rearrangement of the status quo.
The unwavering obedience of Jesus to the Father’s will, despite threats against his life, arises from an intimate relationship of trust, built on prayer. “Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear” beautifully portrays the continuity of the conversation between Jesus and his Abba, as nighttime prayers give way to dreams, and the message of dreams linger in the conscious mind upon waking. “I have not rebelled, have not turned back” shows the depth of his trust in the Father’s steady instruction.
Psalm 22 seems at first to signal a break in the relationship, with its refrain, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me,” but if we persevere in our listening to the end, we move with the psalmist from plea to praise, or at least the vow to praise (“I will proclaim your name…”). This vow demonstrates trust; the psalmist expects to be delivered. Even amid terrible suffering, the conversation of covenant partners continues.
St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians expands on the theme of obedience: “And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Christ’s humility, his emptying of self, opens the way to his obedience, and his obedience opens the way to our salvation.
If we consider Phil 2:6-11 in its biblical context, we notice how St. Paul suspends his usual dense prose in favor of a hymn — a pre-existent piece of liturgy, most probably well-known at the time of his writing. He cites this familiar text, this beloved song of faith, to remind the Philippians of their commitment to live justly, as true disciples of Jesus the servant Lord.
Verses 6-8 present Jesus, in his humility and obedience, as the model for their behavior (and ours). Following the example of Jesus, they (and we) can move beyond self-interest toward compassion and true community. This splendid hymn also encapsulates and enshrines the Paschal Mystery — the suffering-death-resurrection of Jesus that accomplishes our salvation.
The Passion according to St. Luke follows the basic outline common to all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) but also features unique elements: First, we hear the criminals crucified with Jesus differ sharply in their response to him. One shows no sign of remorse for his crime yet demands favor. The other recognizes his guilt and asks for mercy. His repentance and trust prompt the promise, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Finally, Jesus prays from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” from Psalm 31. This brief quote stands in for the entire text, recalling the intimacy and trust of covenant partners portrayed in it, and pointing us toward Good Friday.
Melanie holds a master’s in pastoral studies from Loyola University, New Orleans.