The Sunday of the Passion 9 a.m. – Blessing of the Palms and said Eucharist. 11 a.m. Blessing and Procession of the Palms with Procession in the Neighborhood. Reading of the Passion according to Luke, Festal Eucharist with Choir. 7 p.m. Meditation and Sacrament.
The language of discord and conflict pervades our current social landscape, and the readings for today seem to echo these themes. All of the subjects — the Psalmist, Jeremiah and Jesus — are set in scenes filled with danger and opposition. The dangerous opposition is from within their societies, from their compatriots.
The Disney movie Lilo and Stitch takes place in Hawaii, and uses the refrain that “Ohana means family, and family means that nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” Sisters, friends, little blue aliens who love to sing Elvis songs: everybody works together to help save the day. People look out for each other, and lift each other up…
It’s a small leap to see the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in a metaphorical light: faith in their God protecting them from the fires of sin and corruption. It’s also not a huge leap from there to some of the fires burning around us today: racism, sexism, homophobia — hatred of all kinds. And, of course, the most combustible fuels to fires like these are lies, ignorance and fear.
Earlier this year, I had the great privilege of attending the ordination of our former parishioner Christopher Montella to the sacred order of priests. The Sunday following his ordination, Christopher preached as well as celebrated his first Eucharist.
He proclaimed the love of God through Jesus beautifully, and included a reference to Ascension as his first glimpse of what it means to see Jesus in others.
Today’s readings about “Susanna” and “The Adulterous Woman” lead me to reflect on the oppression of women through the ages and up to the present. The readings also stimulate thoughts about social justice and injustice. Susanna chooses to sacrifice her life rather than submit to sexual assault by two depraved elders; “The Adulterous Woman” is also being judged and is saved by Jesus from being stoned to death.
Hearing Jesus’ words, the crowd believed he had to be either a prophet or the Messiah. Unaware of Christ’s birthplace or lineage, the chief priests and Pharisees argued that Scripture clearly states that the Messiah would be born in David’s city, Bethlehem, and that no prophet had ever been born in Galilee. Alas, there were no birth certificates! Sound familiar?
We acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God — but do we really understand what that meant to Jesus and what it means to us in our relationship with Jesus? As he courageously sought to make himself known in the temple in Judea, can we then unite ourselves in spirit with Jesus? Do we have the strength of conviction and a strong enough commitment to Jesus to overcome our fears and prejudices?
Am I ever stiff-necked? Words like “haughty” and “rigid” come to mind. Not me, right?! But do I often find myself looking at someone on the subway and thinking: Why doesn’t she lose some weight? What was he thinking with that hairdo? And break from my routine or change my plans? Not easily.
In today’s section, Jesus explains that he is the Son of God. This relationship is very interesting, and confusing: Jesus can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees his Father doing. He is distinct from the Father, as he is the Son, but he is not autonomous. While Jesus can’t do anything by himself, he does have a will of his own.