Reflection - Sixth Sunday of Lent (Palm Sunday) 2021
The gospel according to Mark is the shortest in length of the four gospels but the description of the Passion of Jesus Christ is of similar length as the other gospels. Perhaps brevity did not do justice to the last days of Jesus’ earthly life? So much to say!
Everything is taken from Jesus, everything. He has no comfort or support from anyone. In one sense Mark is a brutal writer; he does not spare Jesus and he does not spare the reader.
We have a sense of outrage and helplessness when we read the narrative of how Jesus is betrayed, abandoned by his followers, arrested unjustly, tried in a legal process that lacked justice. Then tortured in a casual, routine way, crucified, taunted by his accusers, by ‘the crowd’, abused by those robbers dying with him. It just did not stop until he died.
The gospel though is full of surprises as God is full of surprises. Mark is writing after the resurrection of Jesus, (‘the Messiah’ in Jewish terms, or 'the King of the Jews' in Roman terms). People were jeering and growing tired of the spectacle because Jesus had died, no fun mocking a dead man. But the centurion on duty, a man of authority who would have witnessed many crucifixions, is described by Mark: The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died and he said, "In truth, this man was a son of God."
Often in the gospels, the outsider like the centurion, or the pagan woman seem to see and understand what is hidden from the eyes and hearts of God’s own people. They respond in faith and Jesus is amazed. He is rejected in Nazareth his home village but accepted or understood by people who are foreign to the Jewish faith.
They were not expecting a suffering Messiah! No one was expecting God becoming human. No one was expecting that the Messiah would do the things Jesus did, healing the sick, and associating with sinners and tax collectors.
Paul Claudel the French poet and devout Catholic penned these words used often of the mystery of life and death and the presence of Jesus in the mystery:
"Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with his presence."
Not only fill it with his presence but give us fullness of life in his presence. How good is that!
Columban Fr Gary Walker is currently living at the Columban house in Sandgate, Brisbane.