Learning from the Lord's Passion

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Palm Sunday, Year B, March 28th, 2021
Texts: Is. 50:4-7; Ps. 22:8-9.17-20.23-24; Phil. 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47
Today's first reading is revealing; it reveals the secret of victory over pains and suffering. The secret is obedience; learning at the feet of the Lord. Hence, the prophet says, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward." When we learn from God we will be faithful; when we allow God to teach us, we will be true to ourselves and to God. When we are rooted in the words of God, we will find courage and consolation in them.
The second reading invites us to be obedient to God and to humble ourselves before him. In Jesus Christ we have come to know that obedience is a victory over suffering and that humility is the way to greatness. St. Paul, in the second reading, says, "And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
We will continue to learn from the characters in today's gospel reading. The woman poured ointment on Jesus Christ to prepare Him for His burial, let us adorn ourselves with virtues, let our fragrance be of virtues, that we may prepare ourselves for eternal life.
Jesus Christ, in His response to those who thought that the oil could have been sold and the money be given to the poor, He said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burying." This teaches us to learn how to set our priorities right. For instance, to save life is more important than giving to the poor. When life is in danger we need to make it our priority to save it before thinking of giving to the poor.
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus in today's gospel reading. Have we ever been betrayed by an intimate friend? How do we feel when we are betrayed? Judas Iscariot sold Jesus Christ because of personal gain. We could see in Judas Iscariot how greed, love of money and things of this world, position, power and fame could make man betray one another and finally his God.
The disciples of Jesus Christ went to prepare a place for their master to celebrate the Passover. Let us know that God does not leave in house built by man, but a pure heart. Let us prepare our hearts for God through conversion and repentance.
Jesus Christ wanted the three apostles, Peter, James and John, to watch  with Him on the  eve of His passion and to give Him courage, but they were sleeping; they could not  watch with Him. They could not understand what he was passing through, they could not share the sorrow with Him. Such attitude put up by the apostles could add to His sorrow. We could see how we add to the pains and sufferings of those around us by our life of indifference to their situations.
We learn from the passion of Jesus Christ that the people we serve could also turn against us, they could deny us. The people who cried hosanna at His solemn entrance into Jerusalem also cried, "crucify him, crucify him, crucify him". We see how gullible, crude and unreliable crowd could be. Just like Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome, and other women, let us follow Jesus  to the end, to the place of His passion, that we might participate in His resurrection; let us suffer with Him, that we might share in His resurrection and glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, in your passion we could see how much you love us, give us the courage to show You gratitude by bearing patiently the discomforts of this life. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke