Truly This Man Was the Son of God

03-24-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord ushers us into Holy Week, the Week during which we shall commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Palm Sunday begins with the proclamation of Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem where He taught for awhile before the commencement of His passion and death which He endured in order as the perfect Lamb of Sacrifice (Gen 22:8) in order to reconcile all people to God and to restore the world to righteousness. There are two Gospel passages read at the Liturgy on Palm Sunday.

The First passage recounts Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem accompanied by His disciples and the people of the city who lauded Him as “The Son of David,” one of the titles of the promised Messiah. It is very probable that the same crowd that “hailed Him as the blessed who comes in the name of the Lord” also transformed into the mob that shouted “crucify Him, crucify Him” when Jesus stood before the authorities for judgment. As we commemorate Christ’s triumphant entry into His own city, let us ensure that our rendering of “hosanna in the highest” in the luxury of our worship space is actually consistent with our activities in life, family and community.

The second Gospel passage, which is called the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, tells the story of Jesus’ final discourses with His Disciples, the institution of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Orders, Jesus’ agony in the garden of olives and His arrest, His judgment and condemnation, His suffering and death as well as the final confession by the centurion, probably a non-Jewish Roman, that “truly this man was the Son of God.’’ The first thing that strikes me is the extent to which God is willing to go in order to have us reconciled to, and enjoy a covenant relationship with Him. God is willing to provide the lamb whose blood seals the supreme and universal covenant, He loves the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The love of the Son for us is such that He willingly accepts in humility to share in our humanity, to suffer and die a despicable death on the cross in order to purchase us for righteousness (1 Cor 6:20). As we reflect on this sacrificial love, let us pause to ask what our individual response to this amazing love has been. Have we realized that Divine blood was the price that was paid for us and as such we are not our own and ought not to do things “my way” but God’s way?

We may also like to note how we (represented by Pilate, the Jewish authorities and the mob) conveniently found excuses to be “unjust” to God the Son when we had our only opportunity to place Him on trial. We should also note how His closest allies betrayed and deserted Him, how his friend Judas preferred 30 pieces of silver to Christ and misused a kiss (a sign of love) to betray the only person who never gave up on him,. how He was scoff ed probably by beneficiaries of His numerous miracles, and how the mob chose a taker of life over the giver of life. On the flip side, we ought to note the efforts of Pilate to expose the hypocrisy and vile of Jesus’ accusers, the consistency of His mother Mary’s presence around Him at His trying moment, the faithfulness of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the nocturnal disciple, and the devotion of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus. These good examples of charity and devotion demonstrate to us that our human nature is originally good and that even in the midst of overwhelming evil, one can dare to be different, to be Holy as our heavenly Father is Holy.

May the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ cause a revival of sacrificial love within and among us to the greater glory of God.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh