Passion Sunday

16th March, 2008      Passion Sunday

 

The Passion account of Our Lord, is so powerful that it really speaks for itself….    SO much can be said of its power and significance that it could take a lifetime to ponder…..   and yet…  in many ways… it also speaks for itself….  extra words seem to pale in comparison…. 

 

so I won’t say much today….  

 

except to say, that every time I hear the passion, it stirs something deep inside me….  it renews me, overwhelms me….   reminds me……..    challenges me, condemns me, forgives me……….     It shows just how wonderful Jesus is……  how much he loved us…… that he was prepared to give up everything….  

 

He won’t speak up in his own defence…. he does the unthinkable… even though innocent… he remains silent….  not uttering a word….  even a word  that has in so many previous encounters has gotten him out of a dangerous situation…..   I always admired how Jesus, when faced with malicious antagonism from others.. was often able to pull the carpet from under them with some well chosen words… or a question… the answer of which they cannot give…..    I love his clever and insightful replies,.,,,, but none now….   not that he couldn’t…. he would not….  he remains silent…..

 

It is a reminder… there are times we feel the need to justify and explain ourselves…  sometimes we might be unjustly judged by others…. and we want to speak out in our defence….  sometimes the judgement may be correct… but pride can make us want to explain, excuse, mitigate…..  but not Jesus…..   he will not speak up to defend himself…. he is utterly sure of his own worth in the Father…  he is not puffed up with pride… he knows the truth and has no need of the acceptance of arbitrary judges……. 

 

It would be great (some quiet time during this holy week) to take the whole longer account of the passion and read it slowly.. prayerfully….   mattehws account from today is different from the one in John’s Gospel which we hear every Good Friday…..

 

contemplate Judas…….   what in the world is going on?... jesus insists on calling him Friend… even when he betrays him….. I used to think he was just being ironic… what if he wasn’t …. what if Jesus continued to trust in and hope for his friend Judas, and that Judas would not accept the offer of friendship Jesus was giving him……..    Judas does repent (of sorts) and throws the blood money away….    but was Jesus asking him to trust in the mercy and forgiveness that he was offering on  the cross for all people…..    ?  can we trust that jesus is truly calling us friend….  would give anything for us… and is inviting us to trust in the new life and forgiveness that he does offer to each of us, who hope in his unconditional love…  revealed on the tree of calvary?