The week that begins with Palm Sunday contains what are sometimes called the “High Holy Days” of Christianity. They are called this because they commemorate the last days of the life of Jesus as he goes from the Last Supper to the tomb and contain the most sacred moments of Christian history.

While there are many aspects of this week that we can look at, our focus in this study is on the Garden of Gethsemane. After the Last Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden to pray and prepare for what lies ahead. Knowing that he will be facing incredible suffering, he prays to the Father, asking that if it is possible that the “cup” he must drink could pass.

In these moments, we see Jesus, the man. He is fearful and anxious, even to the point of sweating blood. Yet, he unites his human will—which dreads the coming events—with his Father’s and is able to not just passively acquiesce to his Passion, but embrace it. He doesn’t deny his pain, but unites it to the Father in an act of perfect love.

The lesson is clear for us. We all are called to love God and do the Father’s will, even when it is difficult. But love involves sacrifice— dying to self and making sacrifices for the one we love. Indeed, love demands that we sometimes do things we don’t want to do to serve the good of others. We can use the example of Christ in the Garden to accept our crosses as well.
 

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FIRST READING ~Isaiah 50:4–7~

As a servant, Isaiah claims, “I have not rebelled, have not turned back” from God. This is in contrast to his generation in Israel, who had both rebelled and turned away from God. Isaiah was faithful, and for this faithfulness he suffered. His suffering was very intense and painful. He tells of having been beaten. He describes his beard being plucked—a sign of dishonor for the Jews. Yet in all of his suffering, Isaiah puts up no resistance. Despite suffering, Isaiah endures in faithfulness. Again he acknowledges the Lord’s help as the cause of his ability to endure. In utmost humility, all of Isaiah’s successes are attributed to the work of God, all is for his glory. Although he’s to suffer much, he’s confident and trusts that God will take care of him.

Isaiah’s ministry and life are a prefigurement of Jesus Christ. As a prophet and servant of God, Isaiah prophesies, not only by his words but by his very life, the future Man-God. The faithfulness and suffering of Isaiah point to a similar pattern in the life of Christ. As we prepare for Holy Week and the death and Resurrection of Christ, Isaiah reminds us of the suffering that Christ endured for us.

 

SECOND READING ~Philippians 2:6–11~

St. Paul exhorts us to have the same attitude as Christ, but what exactly is that? The answer seems to follow upon Paul’s description of Christ, who “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.” Jesus was and is always God, so it doesn’t make much sense that he’d want to grasp at an equality with God that he already had. Scholars say a better translation of the word grasp would be “taken advantage of.” It makes more sense to say that “though in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be taken advantage of.”

The attitude of Christ, then, was that of not taking advantage of his great powers and privileges as God. Instead, Jesus accepts the humble condition of a slave. Thus, his attitude is one of selfless surrender and great generosity. This is the attitude that St. Paul would have us imitate.
 

As Christ enters the holy city of Jerusalem to the acclaim of the people, our part must be muted by our knowledge of what’s to come. As Christ knew, we also know that acclaim would quickly turn to accusation and deadly intent. The palm celebration foretold the final vindication and victory of the Messiah in his Resurrection.

This serves as a salutary reminder that each Sacrament, each mystery of the Church, contains within it the whole of the mystery of Christ. Our whole sacramental spirituality as Catholics combines the dark tones of the Passion as well as the bright ones of the Resurrection. Each Eucharist, because it includes the whole mystery of Christ, includes both movements: sorrow and joy. We begin the Mass with the Penitential Rite and end with the Communion Rite. The Eucharistic meal includes both the Passover Seder Supper of Holy Thursday and the sacrifice of Calvary on Good Friday. The Lord we truly receive in Holy Communion is the Risen Lord of Glory who is present in the consecrated host—body, blood, soul, and divinity. Because the Palm Sunday Liturgy includes both the foretaste of Christ’s glory in the procession of the palms and the bitter agony leading up to the sacrifice of Calvary, it’s a good time to reflect upon the nature of the Eucharist as the whole of the mystery of Christ.

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MEDITATION:

RESOLUTION:

Is there a bitter “cup” that you are being asked to drink? Perhaps you sense that you should do something that you dread to do— such as admit a fault, apologize to someone, tell someone the full truth about something you’ve been hiding, or confess your sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Or perhaps you are facing some trial with family, an illness, or a financial problem. This week, remember Jesus in the Garden and pray for the strength and resolve to do God’s will and accept your cup.

 

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Opening the Word offers prayers and insights for the Sunday Scriptural lessons. Watch the video presentation that accompanies this reflection FREE at   Formed.org.