Hosanna Sunday Reflections . . .

  Palm Sunday liturgy presents us with the identity of a leader who makes a tremendous impact in the lives of people, and in return, the people showed up for their leader in a ceremonial show of gratitude. At the Mount of Olives, the crowd gathered around their popular and inspirational leader in a public show of gratitude and acclamation. The humility in Jesus’ choice of a mule as the means with which to make his entrance into the city of Jerusalem motivated the crowd to take the shirts off their backs together with leafy branches from nearby trees and provided their leader an entrance into Jerusalem that befits his popularity and the admiration he enjoys from the people. The choice of a mule for Jesus’ royal entrance represents the kind of leadership he embodies throughout his ministry. During his public ministry, Jesus touched in an impactfully positive way the lives of children, men and women. The poor found in Jesus’ ministry the reason to hope again as they experienced restored dignity, the rich learned from Jesus the proper use of their resources through acts of benefaction, and the sick experienced again healing and wholeness.

The Antonian fortress stands ahead of the gathering of the crowd at the Mount of Olives to prepare for Jesus’ royal entrance into the city of Jerusalem. The fortress represents the presence and authority of the Roman empire over Palestine. There is no discounting the fact that Roman soldiers stationed at the fortress and those keeping guard on the walls of the city of Jerusalem saw the approaching and the thunderous chanting of the crowd accompanying Jesus as they ritualize Jesus’ divine royalty and kingly identity. But the jarring difference between the imperial leadership the soldiers represent and the chanting crowd following Jesus into the city is obvious. Anyone beholding the scene of Jesus’ royal entrance into Jerusalem is left with the knowledge of the kind of leader Jesus embodies.

Our commemoration of Jesus’ bold and consequential entrance into the city of Jerusalem reminds us of his leadership and divine mandate to give himself for the liberation and wellbeing of humanity. He confronts the inhumane structures in the society as a humble and transformational leader. Like every servant of God, as we read in the First Reading, Jesus’ leadership is quite unpopular among the elites because he empowers those who live through dehumanizing experiences in the society. Like the servant of God in Isaiah, the words of Jesus stir them to the consciousness of their dignity, freedom and equality as the children of God in shared infinite and transcendent personhood (Isaiah 50:4). Like Jesus, the servant of God summons the courage to lead in the midst of the divisive and ideological rhetorics, and the sectionalism that destroy our unity and common humanity as God’s children.

For every servant of God, leadership is service to God and humanity, and the unity of the human family towards growth and flourishment. Jesus is portrayed, in the Second Reading, as that exemplary servant leader whose presence to the human family elevates each and every one to a place of nobility and invites us to do the same towards one another. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus identifies himself as a servant leader (Luke 22:27), he displayed obedience in his willingness to die on the cross (Phil 2:8), and his excellence in leadership and the gift of himself on the cross is meritorious. Therefore, he receives the reward of exaltation and fame (Phil 2:9).

The life of Jesus is indeed a testament to the truth that God will reward those whose collaboration with God for the leadership of the world brings transformation to others.  Therefore, our memorial celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which begins with the liturgy of Palm Sunday, unites us intimately with the life of Christ so that we can carry forward in our lives the renewal and transformation we have experienced from Jesus Christ. The current world order yearns for a leader who exudes humility and compassion like Jesus Christ did. A leader who will inspire others to undertake good and noble acts for the good of all. A leader who is determined to promote a life of dignity, growth and prosperity for the human family. Indeed, the world yearns for a humble and compassionate leader like Jesus who will lead others to discover their own gift of humane presence to others.

Ferdinand Okorie Vice President and Academic Dean Assistant Professor of New Testament Studie

 https://learn.ctu.edu/category/sunday-scripture-reflection/

Readings:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.
Philippians 2:6-11
Luke 22:14—23:56

 

 

Social and Spiritual Networking . . .

 

Come, Holy Spirit ~

Replace the tension within us with a holy relaxation,

Replace the turbulence within us with a sacred calm,

Replace the anxiety within us with a quiet confidence,

Replace the fear within us with a strong faith,

Replace the bitterness within us with the sweetness of grace,

Replace the darkness within us with a gentle light,

Replace the coldness within us with a loving warmth,

Replace the night within us with Your day,

Replace the winter within us with Your spring,

Straighten our crookedness, fill our emptiness,

Dull the edge of our pride, sharpen the edge of our humility,

Light the fires of our love, quench within us the flames of envy,

Let us see ourselves as You see us,  that we may see You as You have promised ~

 

Palms of Hosanna!

 

 

Blessings of Palms
By Jan Richardson

This blessing can be heard coming
from a long way off.

This blessing is making
its way up the road
toward you.

This blessing blooms in the throats
of women,
springs from the hearts
of men,
tumbles out of the mouths
of children.

This blessing is stitched into
the seams of the cloaks
that line the road,
etched in the branches
that trace the path,
echoes in the breathing
of the willing colt,
the click of the donkey’s hoof
against the stones.

Something is rising beneath this blessing.
Something will try to drown it out.

But this blessing cannot be turned back,
cannot be made to still its voice,
cannot cease to sing its praise
of the One who comes
along the way
it makes.

From: Circle of Grace, Wanton Gospeller Press, Orlando, FL, 2015
 http://www.janrichardson.com/index.htmlichardson.com 
©Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com

Ready, Set, Give Yourself Away! . . .

  

 

 

 

Entry
( Matthew 21:1-11) 

The stage is set
and everything washed clean
in a rain of sunshine.
Hands reach out
to calm a skittish colt,
bewildered by its burden.
The Son of David
rides a rainbowed road
that rocks with hosannas.
(Irene Zimmerman, OSF)

Lenten Blessings, Lenten Practice . . .

 

May God bless us with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that we may live deep within our hearts.

 

May God bless us with anger
at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

 

May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer from pain,
rejection, starvation and war,
so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them
and to turn their pain into joy.

 

And may God bless us with enough foolishness
to believe that we can make a difference in this world,
so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Author Unknown

April 6, 2025: Nicole S. Symmonds, Ph.D., Preaches for the 5th Sunday of...

Caught in the act with LOVE!

 

“I am touched to the core with a presence I cannot explain. A loving plan enfolds me. Someone is always believing in me, calling me forth, calling me on. I am standing in grace filled with mystery touched with the eternal.  I cannot get away from goodness. I think I name you, God.”    (An Amazing Presence by Macrina Wiederkehr)



 This past Sunday’s Gospel is the story of the adulteress woman “caught in the act” and brought before Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees. Seems her lover was given the nod to run off and not be held accountable for this crime against the Mosaic Law.  I have often wondered how they were able to get her to this place of exposure without pushing or pulling her or touching her. Was that not a crime as well that made them “unclean"?  It was a set up. They were trying to trap Jesus saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

Jesus is cornered and caught in the act, but in what God does best – pouring forth unconditional compassion, forgiveness, and love. He stoops to write in the dirt not once, but twice. Even though we know not what he wrote, could we imagine that it was her name – for her accusers call her, “this woman,”  Or maybe - "you are loved."  He then stands up to look not only in her eyes, but deep into her soul – and invites her to trust being loved unconditionally without judgment, exploitation, or condemnation.

He reaches into the very depths of her heart - there to catch her with the grace of forgiveness, and invites her to sin no more – not just for the next half hour, or the next day – but for the rest of her life!  He catches her in the act of sorrow, offers healing and freedom, and has her claim her new way of being woman – believing in herself – and knowing that God believes in her!

He then stands and turns only to prepare himself to have the “rocks of lies” cast at him as he moves deeper into the week named Passover. There he will be “caught in the act” of being betrayed, judged, stripped, crucified, buried – but already making plans to break the Law once again by not staying dead – for no stone can keep God’s power contained or from loving us!