April 10, 2022

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion Cycle C

Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56

Palm Sunday is always dramatic – how could a reading of the passion not be so? There is significance in all aspects of the story, from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, to the rejection of the Christ by the Jewish leaders and a sizable portion of the people, and finally to all that happened on the way to and upon Calvary. There is meaning to it all, but as we focus on these events, the “what” of Christ's death, the sequence of occurrences, let us take a moment to reflect on the “how” and the “why,” the reason he laid his life down for us. The second reading focuses on this.

Biblical scholars believe that the words that Saint Paul uses are not original to Paul but are a sacred hymn originally written in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and all of Israel for everyday conversation. It dates from the very earliest times of Christianity, when Christians started meeting and celebrating the life of Christ. In other words, this hymn would have been written by the people who knew Jesus and the apostles first- or maybe second-hand just after the events in the Gospel happened. And it tells us what they knew to be truth, and the way that they worshiped from the very start.

Paul wrote in Greek, not Aramaic, and he uses the word “kenosis.” This word means in English “to empty.” The Gospel passion tells us how Christ emptied himself: he renounced his divine status so as to be subject to his human nature, to be subjected to pain, suffering, and ultimately death. He emptied himself of all dignity and privilege, becoming a slave. And because he did this, he became the perfect sacrifice that allows him to be filled with perfect glory of God, and also earns for us the redemption with God that we could never earn on our own.

Paul then takes this hymn, the reason why the passion happened and how Christ accomplished our redemption, and encourages the Philippians to be Christ-like, to empty themselves of all their worldly egos and vices, and to allow God to fill them up with his glory as Jesus Christ demonstrated for us. We cannot be filled by God if we are full of ourselves, of sin and ego and pride. In the words of our mission speakers this last week, Christ was “all in” for our salvation – are we “all in” for the discipleship that he asks of us? Therefore, on this holy day, the beginning of this holy week, in preparation for next week’s glorious triumph on Easter morning, let us echo the words we heard today, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” [Luke 23:46], and transform them into “Christ, into your hands I commend my life.”