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24 mar 2024

24/03/2024 - Palm Sunday - B

24/03/2024 - Palm Sunday - B

Mk 11,1-10 - 1st reading Is 50,4-7 from Psalm 21 2nd reading Phil 2,6-11 Gospel Mk 14,1- 15,47

Today we begin the celebration with a special moment of prayer: holding olive branches in our hands we listen to the account of the episode in which the disciples and large crowd acclaimed Jesus as King of the people of Israel, descendant of David.

They, at the end of their pilgrimage, came in sight of the city of Jerusalem. This was to be a moment of particular joy for the pilgrims: they had arrived at the goal of the long and arduous journey, and were ready to sing the psalms, called the psalms of the ascension, that is, of the last ascent that, on a long flight of steps, would lead them to the gate of the city and the temple.

Jesus himself prepared the last leg of the journey in order to help the crowd and disciples understand what they were already planning to do.

They wanted to proclaim him king, and he wanted them to understand what his kingship consisted of. He is indeed king, but not as they thought, a king who takes his place among the great of the world to exercise dominion and impose his will. He is king, as the prophets said, a meek, humble king, who wants to put himself at the service of all, ready therefore to give his life so that all may feel loved, not by a man, but by God himself!

The only enemy of the true king is not men, not even those in authority and power, but the devil: the devil is an enemy who cannot stand humility and is overcome by humility. Here then, Jesus makes himself lead a colt. No one has ever ridden on it yet: so it had to be for a king, because only new things are offered to the king! The foal, however, Jesus wants of a donkey, a meek animal, the animal that is not ridden for war, but only for service. In this way Jesus gives an eloquent message that corrects false expectations.

The cloaks and fronds, spread by pilgrims and disciples on the road, were also a typical sign with which the victorious king was greeted, and the psalm sung by all is the one that says that we do not rely on the security given by men, but only on that which comes from the hand of the Lord, who knows how to use the stone discarded by the great of the earth to begin his great works.

This is how Jesus enters the city, and this is how he enters our hearts, and prepares us to listen to the prophecy of Isaiah, the consideration of St Paul, and the narration of the Passion Gospel.

Isaiah speaks of the sufferings that the servant of God will have to endure.

St Paul also speaks of the humiliation to which Jesus Christ submitted, even though he was God. He did not want to be a powerful God, but a loving God, a God who loves so much that he emptied himself and obeyed even unto death. That is why we now acclaim him, love him and commit ourselves to follow him.

And finally, the long Gospel passage makes us listen again to the narration of the Lord's last hours on this earth. We are thus led to adore the mystery of the institution of the Eucharist, the mystery of his betrayal, that of his condemnation to death and the whole passion he faced in silence.

At the moment of his death, the pagan centurion, who was in charge of the soldiers assigned to the crucifixion, surprisingly comes to faith, and declares it publicly: 'Truly this was the Son of God'. To this profession of faith we too wish to join.

Believing that he is the Son of God, we love him, we give him our lives, and we prepare to celebrate our faith throughout the week in a special way. We will pray, we will confess our sins, we will consolidate new steps of conversion, and we will draw closer to our brothers and sisters to joyfully celebrate together the resurrection of our God and Saviour.

Almighty and eternal God, who gave as a model to mankind Christ your Son, our Saviour, made man and humbled to the death of the cross, grant that we may always be mindful of the great teaching of his passion, in order to participate in the glory of the resurrection.