Thought for the Week

Palm Sunday. Isaiah 50:4-7. Psalm 22. Philippians 2:6-11. The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark 14:1-15:47.

 

At this time of the year as we pay particular attention to the Passion of Jesus, one thing that really bothers us is the betrayal of Judas. Didn’t Jesus know who he was picking, when he chose the twelve? Why would he include a betrayer amongst his apostles? Isn’t that what he does with us? He offers his friendship to everyone. He doesn’t just pick the “good” ones but died for everyone. Did Judas become disillusioned, because Jesus was so slow in re-establishing the earthly kingdom of Israel? Did his greed blind him to the real reason Jesus came? We do not know. However, we do know about the many times we have abandoned Jesus with our sins and he still keeps us close. The other apostles denied Jesus, too, and ran away. Peter even denied knowing him. Yet, Jesus loved them and forgave them, even Judas. This gives us hope, that no matter how far we may run from Jesus, he will always be there with open arms to welcome us home.

 

St. Paul gives us a beautiful description of Jesus’ experience in becoming a human person. Imagine being God and choosing to assume the nature of one of his creatures. As the well-known tale tells, it would be like us becoming an ant to save the ant population. Jesus did not grasp at power; he let it go. “He emptied himself” of all the advantages of God. Can we same the same? Do we not at times want to grasp power over others? We want to command our opinion or our way of doing things. We even want things put where we want them put. We can be so petty about little things, let alone about big things. We see the struggle for power in our political arena. We only have to turn on the daily news to see this struggle. We are in no position to criticize Judas, the apostles or anyone else. We are the ones who need daily conversion.

 

So, this Sunday, as we wave our Palms of thanksgiving and praise, let us commit to a daily act of thanksgiving to God for our salvation. Let us place that palm in an obvious place, so that it can remind us of our need to humble ourselves and praise God – to walk side by side with our neighbor in love and friendship. What a different world it would be, if we looked upon one another with forgiveness and mercy and really shared the resources of this world. I guess that’s what the kingdom - heaven is all about.

We also celebrate the wonderful Feast of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday. Hopefully, you all have the opportunity to attend this beautiful service. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a profound gift that is a treasure unmeasurable. Only a God could have thought of how to remain with us in such a tangible way.

 

I read recently an interesting way of praying the Psalms. Take the first line of each Psalm and pray them together.

 

May your Easter celebration be one of joy, peace, hope and love,

Sister Rosemarie Goins, a Felician Franciscan Sister