'Hear the Word!' by Deacon Charles Paolino: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah

(Chapter 50:4-7)

The prophet speaking in this passage in the eighth century before the birth of Jesus could not have anticipated how his words would resonate in our time. But we can read this passage as applying to our baptismal mandate to spread the gospel by both word and example without fear of ridicule or rejection. Some may be shy about witnessing to Jesus Christ in an increasingly secular society, but that is precisely our mission.    

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 22)

“If you, Lord, mark our iniquities,” the psalmist asks, “Lord, who can stand?” But then he adds, “But with you is forgiveness and so you may be revered.” Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, our focus is not on punishment for our sins but rather on God’s forgiveness of all who go to him in penance. 

A reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians

(Chapter 2:6-11)

When I was a kid in the 1940s, I once saw a mother slap her son because he blurted out “Jesus!” in response to something that had surprised him. I’m not a proponent of slapping under any circumstances, but that incident dramatizes for me how respect for the holy name of Jesus has been eroded in our society. Today, it is commonplace to hear that name tossed about in movies, television shows, and in everyday conversation. As we recall how he “emptied” himself for our salvation, how he obediently went to his death, let us be the counterculture that still treats “Jesus Christ” as the name that is above every other name.

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

(Chapter 26:14—27:66)

Don’t we wish we knew more about some of the folks who appear briefly in scripture, play a meaningful role, and then disappear? When the whole Passion narrative is read today, we hear about such a person, Joseph of Arimathea, who, according to all the gospels, claimed the body of Jesus and respectfully consigned it to a proper tomb. As often happens with biblical figures who make only a fleeting appearance, many legends about Joseph have evolved, including that he was given custody of the Holy Grail and that he was the founder of the Christian Church in Britain. There is no historic basis for such stories, and they distract from the significance of what Joseph did. The Gospel of John reports that Joseph was secretly a disciple of Jesus, and yet, at a moment when many of Jesus’ “public” disciples had deserted him and were in hiding, Joseph went to Pontius Pilate and asked for permission to take possession of the body. Perhaps the evangelists didn’t tell us any more about Joseph because they wanted us to focus on the only reason he appears in the gospels at all—that, in the end, he did not hesitate to cast his lot with Jesus, no matter who knew about it. May we have the same courage. 

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Painting: Flagellation of Christ, Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio), circa 1607. Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, France. Public domain.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved.

Charles Paolino is managing editor at RENEW International. He is a permanent deacon of the Diocese of Metuchen.