Lectio Sunday march 24, 2024

LECTIO DIVINA SUNDAY OF PALM, Cycle B

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7: «Therefore I hardened my face like a rock, knowing that I would not be disappointed (cf. Is 50:7).

 The prophet Isaiah presents us with the figure of the suffering servant, describing him as a «disciple and envoy» with a message of consolation: «He has given me the tongue of the initiate to speak a word of encouragement to the brokenhearted» (cf. Is 50:4), and goes on to say: «He has opened his ear to me. I did not resist nor did I back down, he has strengthened him to «Withstand the outrages and spittle of his assailants», certain that he would not be defrauded.» (Cf. Is, 50, 4;9a)

Psalm 22: «My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Ps. 22:1).

This psalm, in its interpretation attributed to the Elohist school, does not contradict the portrait of the suffering servant presented to us by Isaiah, certain that no matter how much he suffers, he will not be disappointed. Some hermeneuticists and exegetes suggest that, by putting these words in the mouth of Jesus in the torture of the cross, allusion is made to the prayer of the third hour that every Jew offered on Friday. He, associated with his faith, joins the psalmist, but he never feels abandoned or left by the Father, and even less so at the culminating moment of his sacrifice and surrender for love.»

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6 – 11

 «He took the form of a slave, making himself in the likeness of men. (Cf Phil, 2, 7) Jesus passed through the world as one of many, demonstrating to us that we were created for love and in the image of God and that likeness to Him is our daily task. Yet Jesus: «He did not boast of his status as God; on the contrary, he emptied himself and became a slave. Therefore God exalted him, giving him the name that is above every name.» (Phil 2:6-8).

Gospel, Mark 14:1-15; 47: «The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark is placed by its author and by its close link with Peter before the community of the Romans, whom Mark wished to strengthen in time of persecution with all his accounts. Mark presents Jesus in his passion as a model in suffering and as the savior of those who believe in him.»

LET’S LISTEN:

After reading Mark’s Gospel in its innumerable details to frame the context of the Lord’s passion, it is important to highlight an itinerary along which the Gospel leads us. It all begins with the detail of the meeting and the anointing in Bethany and the crisscross interpretations around the «waste of the perfume» to which some of his disciples allude, trying to persuade the others that it could have been better sold to distribute it among the poor.

Continuing this itinerary of the Gospel presenting the dialogue around the details of the preparation of the Passover supper and the story highlights the dialogue between Jesus and his disciples during it, triggering the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter, the arrest of Jesus, the confrontation before Pilate, the torture of the condemnation, the scourging, the road to Golgotha with the cross on his back and finally the death and burial of Jesus .»

LET US CONTEMPLATE:

We all know the details of this story and its bloody denouement; but let us dwell on some clear expressions and contemplate from the memory of the heart these words letting them sink deep into our believing experience:

1. «She has gone ahead to embalm my body for the burial».
2. they promised money to Judas Iscariot.
3. Where is the room where I will eat the Passover with my disciples? 
4. «One of you will betray me, one who is here eating with me.
5. «This is my body, this is my blood, the blood of the covenant.
6. «Before the cock crows twice, you have denied me three times.
7. «He began to feel terror and anguish». 
8. «Take him and hold him fast». 
9. «Thou art the Messiah, the Son of God».
10. «I do not know this man.
11. «What say ye? do ye want me to release to you the king of the Jews?
12. «They put on him a crown of thorns which they had twisted together. They took Jesus to Golgotha and crucified him.
13. «He has saved others, let him save himself.»
14. «Jesus gave a loud cry, and breathed his last». 
15. «Joseph of Arimathea rolled a stone at the entrance of the tomb.»

It is important to pause and allow these expressions to resonate in the depths of our being. Each word can confront our faith and strengthen our hope. 

ASK US

How can we actualize the Passion of Christ in our daily lives? How can we adhere to his sacrifice of love, without feeling that death on the Cross is a defeat?

INVITATION

In this time of grace that Palm Sunday inaugurates, let us dispose our hearts to actualize the mystery of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection in our own lives. May these experiences help us to understand the redemptive meaning of suffering and above all to long with hope for the dawn of Easter and the encounter with the Lord of life who conquers death with his resurrection.

Sr. Sandra Milena Velásquez Bedoya, tc