Scripture Reflections for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

“What's the purpose of Christian life? It's to find ourselves, sinners who have wandered far away from God, to find ourselves once again brought back to the right praise of the Father. How do we do that? By making Jesus our Lord.”

“Though we read it every year, the story of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection comes as a fresh relief, like the first rain of the season. And like the smell of fresh rain, life is a mixture of many elements, some of them undesirable. Without suffering, would I recognize joy? Without sin, would I know my need for salvation?”

“From your Bible in Mark 14:1-15:47 or as you listen in church, what catches your attention? Listen for details. Enter into the story as an eye witness in the crowd. Let yourself witness everything that Mark describes.”

“let us pray that the spirit of humility, nonviolence, and perfect love which Jesus modeled may permeate our entire lives. May we help bring his reign of peace into the world”

“We’ve got to cry out to God, deep from the heart, deep from our very soul, letting it well up and burst out. Because what else do we have in these times?”

“Apparently the hearers of this Gospel are supposed to know who Alexander and Rufus are…What would it have been for them to hear Jesus in Mark’s Gospel say that his followers must “take up their cross and follow him” when their father had carried Jesus’ actual cross?”

“let us always remember that a Christian without Christ is a contradiction in terms”

“let’s be like Joseph of Arimathea, who is not ashamed to be associated with Jesus even at the worst point of Jesus absolute rejection and apparent discrediting. In the midst of a society that rejects Jesus and what Jesus stands for, let’s not be afraid to be “seen with Jesus” in public, even if he is bad for our social acceptance and “upward mobility.””

"About a third of St Mark’s Gospel – a sizeable chunk – is devoted to the events of what we have come to call ‘Holy Week’, the week leading up..."

“The Palm Sunday readings remind us of the importance of courage and faithfulness to God’s call when we face doubt, fear or even an imminent threat to life”

“How do we form community with each other when our very talents and achievement are cause for jealousy and resentment, when they’re sources of envy and weapons of competition? How do we love each other when our competitive spirits make us see each other as rivals?”

“The love Christ displayed for all of humanity – past, present and future – to undergo all of that suffering was indeed beautiful. We’re not worthy of this love. But yet, God loves us anyway. It is beautiful.”

“Often in being humbled by life’s losses and suffering, we are offered the gift of faith, and with it, the love that sustains and calls us to be more than we think we are”

"We have two readings from Mark's gospel, and each describes a crowd. There is the enthusiastic crowd of people who cheer Jesus when he enters Jerusalem on the back of..."

"The desire to be met with acclaim seemingly runs deep - to be hailed as liberators, the streets of Basra or Baghdad lined with cheering crowds. Across the centuries those..."

“What Holy Week are we being called into? What Holy Week are you being called into?”

"Entering Holy Week, we see numerous stirring examples of Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. From the direction he enters Jerusalem to his mode of transport, we find again and..."

"Life is grim. It is marked by conflict, division, inextricably difficult situations. And brooding over all of it is the fact of death. How do we deal with this mess?..."