Scritpture Study for
Palm Sunday of The Passion of The Lord
Isaiah 50:4–7 / Psalm 22:2a / Philippians 2:6–11 / Luke 22:14 — 23:56 [23:1–49]
<< Back to LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
The dynamics of hearing and speaking are featured prominently in the first reading’s passage from Isaiah. God has appointed the speaker to a particular ministry and has provided him ears to hear God’s word and a well-trained tongue to speak that word to others. This word is alive and fresh each day, for God opens the speaker’s ears morning after morning. This means that the speaker must be always attentive to hear the word that comes from God. A heavy price is exacted of the speaker. He suffers both physical attack and personal insult. Despite this, he does not recoil from his call.
The reading from Paul is one of the New Testament’s most important Christological statements. The first verse sets the tone for the actions of Christ Jesus. He did not cling to the dignity that was rightfully his, but he emptied himself of all privilege. Though in the form of God, he chose the form of a servant or slave. Without losing his Godlike being, he took on the likeness of human beings. Having taken on the form of a slave, he became obedient like a slave. The exaltation of Christ is as glorious as his humiliation was debasing. All will praise Christ, whose exaltation gives glory to God.
The Passion account from Matthew’s Gospel is a collection of episodes that tell the story of Jesus’ last days. Though in several episodes Jesus appears to be the passive object of the brutality of others, it is quite clear that he is really in charge of his destiny. He makes many of the major decisions. Then he hands himself over to others, allowing them to decide his fate in those cases. Jesus declares that the time of his death and resurrection is the kairós time, that decisive moment when the promises of God are brought to fulfillment. The reading closes at the sealed tomb. Neither Pilate nor the Jewish leaders realize that everything is now in place for the eschatological event of the Resurrection.