Passion Sunday begins the final preparations for the baptismal renewal on Easter. The days following Passion Sunday is called Holy Week because during this time the Church relives Jesus' last days before His Resurrection and subsequent Ascension. The proclamation of the Passion of Jesus on Passion Sunday sets the tone for the rest of the week. This year we read from Matthew's Passion narrative, a Christological proclamation about him who "bore our stripes that we might be healed." Read the article "The Passion of Jesus According to Matthew" and use the following for your meditation.
1. The Passion according to Matthew bears some resemblance to the one presented in Mark's gospel. But it is also different because of the way Matthew had presented Jesus in the infancy narrative. The Jesus of Matthew is clearly also "Son of God" -- conceived in the power of the Spirit -- and "Son of David", the awaited Messiah, whose star was seen by magi from the East. Matthew has also clearly identified Jesus with the Servant of Yahweh in his account of Jesus' ministry. In the Passion, allussions to the Servant of Yahweh and the Suffering Innocent of the Psalms highlights the figure of Jesus in such a way that the Crucified is presented as "truly, the Son of God".
Reflect. "Who was responsible for Jesus' suffering and death?" A paragraph from the Roman Catechism gives the answer:
We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt. And it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater in us than in the Jews.... We, however, profess to know him. And when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him. (Roman Catechism I, 5, 11)
The yearly proclamation of the Passion reminds us of how ugly sin is and how our sins are an affront to Him who loved us and gave himself for us. In the light of Christ's Passion and Death, how do you look at your infidelities to your baptismal vows?
2. The Cross of Jesus has become for us a means of participating in Christ's sacrifice
[CCC par 618]The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between man and God". But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" (GS 22, par. 5) is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to "take up their cross and follow him" (Mat. 16:24) for "Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example so that we should follow in his steps" (1 Pet. 2:21)...
Reflect. When we make the sign of the cross, we are actually reminding ourselves and others that we have been claimed by Christ and that our whole lives are intended to become a sacrifice to God (see Romans 12:12). What resolutions would you make so that the renewal of your baptismal vows this Easter may truly bear fruits of authentic discipleship?
3. The Eucharist is the memorial Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection. Through the sacrament, we make present once more the effects of Christ's offering of self on the cross.
[CCC, par. 611]The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment (of the Last Supper) will be the memorial of his sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them to perpetuate it. By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I sanctify myself so that they may also be sanctified in truth (Jn. 17:19)"
Reflect In the Eucharist, which we celebrate as those who have the common Priesthood of Christ (lay) and the priesthood of the ordained (Order of Presbyters) we gather around the table of the Lord's meal as those whom "he loved until the end." In the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the wine, the wounding of Christ's flesh and the flowing of his blood are made-present once more making us participants in the drama of Good Friday. What would you do to make your participation in the Eucharist truly "salvific"?
