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| “No. 26 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 10. Entry into Jerusalem” by Bondone di Giotto, 1304-06 |
Reading 1: Romans 8:31b-39
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Commentary on Rom 8:31b-39
St. Paul bursts into a hymn proclaiming the victory over death and suffering experienced by the faithful, lifted up by God in Christ. The premise that the love of God assures salvation to the faithful is strengthened as the evangelist asks the rhetorical question “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Over all obstacles (human, physical, and metaphysical; “height" and "depth” probably referred to ancient astrological terms indicating the closest proximity and the most distant star from the zenith), is the love of God expressed in Christ as the unshakable foundation of Christian life and hope.
The Apostle quotes Psalm 44:23 as his song denies that even death is a barrier between the faithful and God’s love. No earthly or spiritual force can stand against such love as that shown in Christ Jesus.
CCC: Rom 8:26-39 2739; Rom 8:31 2852; Rom 8:32 603, 706, 2572; Rom 8:34 1373, 2634
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
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Commentary on Ps 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
Psalm 109 is an individual lament. The strophes presented ask for the Lord’s mercy (the earlier part of this psalm speaks out vehemently against the enemies of the faithful with a series of curses). The singer has faith that God will lead him to salvation and offers praise to God for his justice.
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Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem
“Jerusalem , Jerusalem
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
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Commentary on Lk 13:31-35
In this passage from St. Luke’s Gospel, we hear Jesus responding to Pharisees, who are warning of a plot by Herod. Their motives are not made clear, but we see Jesus using the opportunity to reinforce his role as fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. He declares, in essence, that he is the Messiah. There is a subtle message carried in St. Luke’s use of the number three and one half as well. This number (half of the perfect number “7”) symbolizes a time of dark persecution that will end with God’s glorification (see Daniel 7:25, 8:14, 12:12, and Luke 4:25).
The poem at the end, ending in a quote from Psalm 118:26, is found in St. Matthew’s Gospel linked with the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 23: 37-39). Placed here (and actually paraphrased again after Palm Sunday), it takes on a prophetic tone, an image of the passion to come.
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Homily:
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” These words from St. Paul might cause the naïve person to think that simply by adopting faith in Jesus that everyone will love you; all opposition to your pursuits would be scattered because the Lord God has adopted us as his children. It is a good thing then that we are also given St. Luke’s Gospel in which Jesus tells those who are trying to warn him about a plot on the part of the Herodians that he recognizes that he must be killed as part of his mission.
What is St. Paul
Today we rejoice in the sure and constant hope that since we join ourselves to Jesus at the spiritual level, we will be with him always in the New Jerusalem, our heavenly home. May our faith remain firm and our armor strong this day as we continue to work for his greater glory.
Pax
[1] The picture is “No. 26 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 10. Entry into Jerusalem” by Bondone di Giotto, 1304-06.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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