Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Cycle B March 25, 2018

FIRST READING
Isaiah 50:4-7
The Lord's servant will stand firm, even when persecuted.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 22:8-9,17-18,19-20,23-24
A cry for help to the Lord in the face of evildoers.

SECOND READING
Philippians 2:6-11
Christ was obedient even to death, but God has exalted him.

GOSPEL READING
Jesus is sentenced to death and crucified. The centurion who witnessed
his death declared, "This man was the Son of God."

GOSPEL Mark 14:1--15:47 (shorter form: Mark 15:1-39)

As soon as morning came,
the chief priests with the elders and the scribes,
that is, the whole Sanhedrin held a council.
They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate questioned him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
He said to him in reply, "You say so."
The chief priests accused him of many things.
Again Pilate questioned him,
"Have you no answer?
See how many things they accuse you of."
Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them
one prisoner whom they requested.
A man called Barabbas was then in prison
along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.
The crowd came forward and began to ask him
to do for them as he was accustomed.
Pilate answered,
"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"
For he knew that it was out of envy
that the chief priests had handed him over.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd
to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
Pilate again said to them in reply,
"Then what do you want me to do
with the man you call the king of the Jews?"
They shouted again, "Crucify him."
Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?"
They only shouted the louder, "Crucify him."
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,
released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged,
handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace,
that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.
They clothed him in purple and,
weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.
They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.
They knelt before him in homage.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the purple cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon,
a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,
the father of Alexander and Rufus,
to carry his cross.

They brought him to the place of Golgotha
--which is translated Place of the Skull --
They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,
but he did not take it.
Then they crucified him and divided his garments
by casting lots for them to see what each should take.
It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.
The inscription of the charge against him read,
"The King of the Jews."
With him they crucified two revolutionaries,
one on his right and one on his left.
Those passing by reviled him,
shaking their heads and saying,
"Aha! You who would destroy the temple
and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself by coming down from the cross."
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes,
mocked him among themselves and said,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Christ, the King of Israel,
come down now from the cross
that we may see and believe."
Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
"Look, he is calling Elijah."
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed
and gave it to him to drink saying,
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

(Here all kneel and pause for a short time.)

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said,
"Truly this man was the Son of God!"

BACKGROUND ON THE GOSPEL READING

This Sunday, called Palm or Passion Sunday, is the first day of Holy
Week. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday
are called the Triduum--three days that are the highlight of the Church
year. There are two Gospels proclaimed at today's Mass. The first
Gospel, proclaimed before the procession with palms, tells of Jesus'
triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Riding on a borrowed colt, Jesus was
hailed by the crowds as they blessed God and shouted "Hosanna!" This
event is reported in each of the four Gospels.

At the Liturgy of the Word on Palm Sunday, the events of Jesus' passion
are proclaimed in their entirety. In Lectionary Cycle B, we read the
passion of Jesus as found in the Gospel of Mark. We will hear these
events proclaimed again when we celebrate the Triduum later in the week.
On Good Friday, we will read the passion of Jesus from the Gospel of
John.

In Mark's Gospel, Jesus' passion and death are presented as the
consequence of the tension between the Jewish authorities and Jesus that
had been building throughout his public ministry. This tension reached
its breaking point when Jesus drove the merchants and moneychangers from
the Temple. After this event, the chief priests and scribes began
seeking a way to put Jesus to death, and yet, this is only the surface
explanation for his death.

When Jesus was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin--the council of
Jewish priests, scribes, and elders--he was charged with blasphemy,
citing his threat to the Temple. When he was brought before Pilate,
however, the religious authorities presented his crime as a political
one, charging that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews. In continuity
with a theme of Mark's Gospel, the messianic claim of Jesus is widely
misunderstood.

In Mark's Gospel, Jesus' disciples are rarely models of faith and do
little to invoke confidence in their capacity to continue his ministry
after his death. They fare no better in Mark's narrative of Jesus'
passion and death. At the Last Supper, the disciples insisted that none
among them would betray Jesus. When Jesus predicted that their faith
would be shaken in the events ahead, Peter and the other disciples
protested vehemently. Yet in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus returned
three times to find them sleeping. Jesus prayed in agony over his
impending fate while his disciples slumbered through the night. Just as
Jesus predicted, Peter denied Jesus, and the disciples were absent
during Jesus' passion and death. Only the women who had been followers
of Jesus in Galilee are said to have been present at the Crucifixion,
but they remained at a distance.

Throughout this Gospel, Mark challenges the reader to consider the claim
with which the Gospel begins: Jesus is the Son of God. When we read
Mark's account of the passion, we begin to comprehend the deeper
theological statement being made about Jesus' death. In Mark's telling
of the passion narrative, Jesus understood his death to have been
preordained, and he accepted this death in obedience to God's will.
Jewish Scripture is quoted only once, but there are several references
to the fulfillment of the Scriptures. Jesus understood his anointing in
Bethany as an anticipation of his burial, and he announced that this
story would be told together with the Gospel throughout the world. Jesus
predicted his betrayal by Judas as well as Peter's denial. At his
arrest, Jesus acknowledged that the preordained time had arrived. Jesus
was both confident and silent before his accusers. After he was
sentenced to death, Jesus did not speak again until his final cry from
the cross. The bystanders misunderstood and believed that he was calling
for Elijah. The Roman centurion, however, affirmed what Mark has
presented throughout this Gospel: Jesus is the Son of God. Nowhere was
this revealed more fully than in his death on the cross.

During Holy Week, we prayerfully remember the events of Jesus' passion
and death. As we meditate on the cross, we ask again and anew what it
means to make the statement of faith that Jesus, in his obedient
suffering and dying, revealed himself to us as God's Son.

FAMILY CONNECTION

Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy
Week. During this week, we prepare ourselves for Easter by prayerfully
reflecting on the events of Jesus' passion and death. During this week,
your family might display a crucifix in a prominent place as reminder of
the salvation that Christ won for us. This can also serve as the focal
point for family prayer during Holy Week.

Because of the length and complexity of the passion narrative, it is
difficult for children to remain attentive when it is proclaimed in its
entirety. Families can make it a tradition to read a portion of this
Sunday's Gospel each day of Holy Week, providing ample opportunity for
children to ask questions and respond to the events described there. In
this way, the entire week can become a "way of the cross."

Each day during Holy Week, the family can gather in a prayerful space
with a crucifix as its focal point. The passion as found in Mark's
Gospel might be read as follows throughout the week:

Sunday: Mark 11:1-10 (Gospel at the Procession with Palms)

Monday: Mark 14:1-11

Tuesday: Mark 14:12-26

Wednesday: Mark 14:27-52

Thursday: Mark 14:53-72

Friday: Mark 15:1-41

Saturday: Mark 15:42-47

After reading from the Gospel each night, the family might reflect on
the reading together. Conclude your prayer time together by praying the
Lord's Prayer or by singing an appropriate hymn such as "Jesus, Jesus,"
"Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" or "What Wondrous Love is
This."

Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings