Scripture of the Week

28 Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany
at the place called the mount that is called Olivet,
he sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, ‘Go into the village opposite,
whereon entering you will find a colt tied,
on which no one has ever yet sat;
untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you,
“Why are you untying it?” you shall say this,
“The Lord has need of it”’.
32 So those who were sent went away
and found it as he had told them.
33 And as they were untying the colt,
its owners said to them,
‘Why are you untying the colt?’
34 And they said,
‘The Lord has need of it’.
35 And they brought it to Jesus,
and throwing their garments on the colt
they set Jesus upon it.
36 And as he rode along,
they spread their garments on the road.
37 As he was now drawing near,
at the descent of the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of the disciples
began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had seen,
38 saying,
‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
39 Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’
And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples’.
40 He answered,
‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out’.

Entrance Antiphon

Cf John 12: 1, 12-13; Ps 23: 9-10

Six days before the Passover,
when the Lord came into the city of Jerusalem,
the children ran to meet him;
in their hands they carried palm branches
and with a loud voice cried out:

* Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Who is this king of glory?
He, the Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.

* Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!

First Reading – Isaiah 50:4-7

A reading from the prophet Isaiah

I did not cover my face against insult and I know I will not be ashamed.

The Lord has given me
a disciple’s tongue.
So that I may know how to reply to the wearied
he provides me with speech.
Each morning he wakes me to hear,
to listen like a disciple.
The Lord has opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help,
so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint;
I know I shall not be shamed.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 21:8-9. 17-20. 23-24. R. v.2

(R.) My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Second Reading – Philippians 2:6-11

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians

He humbled himself to become like us and God raised him on high.

His state was divine,
yet Christ Jesus did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are,
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Acclamation – Philippians 2:8-9

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!
Christ became obedient for us even to death
dying on the cross.
Therefore God raised him on high
and gave him a name above all other names.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!

Gospel – Luke 23:1-49

The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

The elders of the people and the chief priests and scribes rose, and they brought Jesus before Pilate.

They began their accusation by saying, ‘We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ, a king.’ Pilate put to him this question, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘It is you who say it’ he replied. Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no case against this man.’ But they persisted, ‘He is inflaming the people with his teaching all over Judaea; it has come all the way from Galilee, where he started, down to here.’ When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean; and finding that he came under Herod’s jurisdiction he passed him over to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Herod was delighted to see Jesus; he had heard about him and had been wanting for a long time to set eyes on him; moreover, he was hoping to see some miracle worked by him. So he questioned him at some length; but without getting any reply. Meanwhile the chief priests and the scribes were there, violently pressing their accusations. Then Herod, together with his guards, treated him with contempt and made fun of him; he put a rich cloak on him and sent him back to Pilate. And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, they were reconciled that same day.

Pilate then summoned the chief priests and the leading men and the people. ‘You brought this man before me’ he said ‘as a political agitator. Now I have gone into the matter myself in your presence and found no case against the man in respect of all the charges you bring against him. Nor has Herod either, since he has sent him back to us. As you can see, the man has done nothing that deserves death, so I shall have him flogged and then let him go.’ But as one man they howled, ‘Away with him! Give us Barabbas!’ (This man had been thrown into prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.)

Pilate was anxious to set Jesus free and addressed them again, but they shouted back, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ And for the third time he spoke to them, ‘Why? What harm has this man done? I have found no case against him that deserves death, so I shall have him punished and then let him go.’ But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices, demanding that he should be crucified. And their shouts were growing louder.

Pilate then gave his verdict: their demand was to be granted. He released the man they asked for, who had been imprisoned for rioting and murder, and handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they pleased.

As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. Large numbers of people followed him, and of women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For the days will surely come when people will say, “Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never suckled!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”; to the hills, “Cover us!” For if men use the green wood like this, what will happen when it is dry?’ Now with him they were also leading out two other criminals to be executed.

When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left. Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.’ Then they cast lots to share out his clothing.

The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too and when they approached to offer him vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it; we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’

It was now about the sixth hour and, with the sun eclipsed, a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. The veil of the Temple was torn right down the middle; and when Jesus had cried out in a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ With these words he breathed his last.

All kneel and pause a moment.

When the centurion saw what had taken place, he gave praise to God and said, ‘This was a great and good man.’ And when all the people who had gathered for the spectacle saw what had happened, they went home beating their breasts.

All his friends stood at a distance; so also did the women who had accompanied him from Galilee, and they saw all this happen.

Gospel Reflection

Journeying Together in Hope
Reflection on the Gospel-Passion Sunday Year C
(Luke 22:14-23:56)

Jesus of Nazareth is executed in Jerusalem when the city is filled with pilgrims who have come to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover which commemorates God’s deliverance of God’s people from slavery in Egypt. A year after his execution, when his friends and family journey together once more for the Passover feast, they find new meaning in the celebration. Every Passover from now on will mark the anniversary of Jesus’ death and will be celebrated through the lens of their experience of his life, death and resurrection. They will share their memories of the one they loved so deeply and reflect on the meaning of his life in the light of their wisdom traditions. Every element of the Passover story will echo with resonances of the life of Jesus who is now present to them in a new way. They journey together in hope. It is not surprising, then, that these final events of Jesus’ life were probably the first part of the Jesus’ story to be committed to writing. Neither is it surprising that each of the canonical gospels includes an account of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection and that each approaches the events from its own particular perspective.

There are several features unique to Luke’s account. In my view, the most remarkable is Jesus’ readiness to forgive his executioners even while they continue to mock him. “They do not know what they are doing,” he says. As we are aware, “not knowing” or ignorance can have disastrous consequences. Another unique Lukan feature is Jesus’ capacity to reach out to others, to “turn towards” the women of Jerusalem, to receive their compassionate mourning and to express his own concern for them. In line with his overall intention to demonstrate that Christianity is no threat to the Roman Empire, Luke repeatedly points to the innocence of Jesus. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is the rejected prophet who trusts utterly in God and into whose hands he entrusts his Spirit. He dies with the same sort of dignity that has characterised his entire life.

It is easy to let our own hurt find expression in criticism of others whom we fail to understand. It is also easy to retaliate in the face of unjust accusation and insult. It takes courage to name unjust treatment for what it is, to forgive wholeheartedly, to retain our peace of mind and to trust in the power of God to break through the ignorance that engenders violence. Palestinian activist Lucy Nusseibeh, founder of MEND (Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy) and the members of the Israeli Peace Now movement have learned that lesson and are promoting the way of non-violence in the face of unconscionable destruction. As we enter into the mysteries of Holy Week, we might pray for the grace to act, like these Palestinian and Israeli activists and like the beleaguered citizens of Ukraine, with the dignity of the Lukan Jesus and thus circumvent the cycles of violence wherever might be..

Sr Veronica Lawson rsm

© The scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. The English translation of the Psalm Responses, the Alleluia and Gospel Verses, and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, and the Titles, Summaries, and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass © 1997, 1981, 1968, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.