This week, we as a Church enter into the holiest week of the Church year, The week in which we commemorate the Passion and Death of Christ, and prepare to celebrate the Easter Mysteries. This week begins with Palm Sunday, and ends with the Easter Triduum.
As I was sitting in Mass this morning, watching people make crosses out of their palm branches, I recalled the words of one Priest, who jokingly referred to Palm Sunday as "Arts and Crafts Sunday," since so many people would be making crosses out of the Palms during Mass. But why do we carry the palm branches on Palm Sunday? The symbolism in the use of palm branches can be found in the Gospels, where mention was made that the followers were placing branches on the road in front of Jesus, and shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" The palm branch, then, is a symbol not only of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but ultimately a symbol of his triumph over death, since he entered into Jerusalem to suffer, and be nailed to the Cross.
As I was reflecting on the Crucifixion the other day, The thought that came to my mind was that many of the modern depictions of the Crucifixion are "too nice." One only needs to look at the Crucifixes in most Catholic Churches to see this. We see Jesus, portrayed with maybe a few drops of blood coming from the crown of thorns, some blood on his hands and feet from the nails, and then the lance wound in his side, and that's about it. The temptation is to try to lessen the horror that took place, and try to make it seem like the Crucifixion was "not all that bad." I can remember that when Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" came out, many people complained that it was "too violent" and that he went "way over the top" in portraying the sufferings of Jesus. In all reality, though, Mel Gibson's portrayal of the events surrounding the Crucifixion is probably quite accurate. Look at it this way: Crucifixion was the most horrible way to be put to death, and Jesus was not just crucified: he was beaten, mocked, crowned with thorns, and fell carrying the cross not once, not twice, but three times. He would have been bleeding from the marks of the scourging, bleeding from the thorns that had been shoved so mercilessly into his head, bleeding from the wounds he would have no doubt incurred when falling down, both from the ground, and from the cross landing on him. When he finally reached Calvary, and his clothing, his last remaining bit of dignity was taken from him, He must have been in agony as the force of his garments being removed ripped open his wounds again. As he was nailed to the cross, and then the cross was stood up, he could hear the jeers of the crowd mocking him, and telling him to "save himself, if he was indeed the Son of God."
And yet, he still had the courage to suffer. And when Jesus was on the Cross, Every single person who believes in him was on His mind. He could see all of us, and he knew that he was suffering for us, so that we would not have to pay the price of our own sin. There is a mediation that I once heard a Priest in the Byzantine Rite reference, which states "This you suffered willingly, This you suffered, just for me." What a powerful image of the grace and mercy of God, knowing that God loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, so that we all might know eternal life with God!
My prayer for this Holy Week is that as we walk with Jesus and commemorate his Passion and death, we can all attain a greater understanding of the Paschal Mystery, and celebrate the Easter Mysteries with great joy. Remember the words of John 3:16: "for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that those who believe in Him might not perish, but may have eternal life."
Christ Crucified, have mercy on us. Amen.
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