When they drew near to Jerusalem,
to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two of his disciples, and said to them,
‘Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately as you enter it
you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat;
untie it and bring it.
If any one says to you,
“Why are you doing this?” say,
“The Lord has need of it
and will send it back here immediately.’”
And they went away,
and found a colt tied at the door out in the open street;
and they untied it.
And those who stood there said to them,
‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’
And they told them what Jesus had said;
and they let them go.
And they brought the colt to Jesus,
and threw their garments on it;
and he sat upon it.
And many spread their garments on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
which they had cut from the fields.
And those who went before
and those who followed cried out,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming!
Hosanna in the highest!’Gospel for the Procession on Palm Sunday
Mark 11:1-10
The principal Gospel reading on Sunday is, of course, the reading of the Passion, this year taken from the Gospel of Mark.
That text will be featured on this Blog over the Monday to Wednesday of Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday the readings here will be taken from the principal liturgies of those days. Service as usual will resume on Easter Monday!
The above passage from Mark’s Gospel reminds of the hope that Jesus awoke in the hearts of many people. The Gospels are silent on whether these same people would form part of the crowd some days later calling for his execution, but we know from other occasions just how fickle a crowd can be, and how callous.
Passion in us is important, but not always trustworthy as a pointer to what is good and true. But it will regularly inform our actions.
- Where has passion helped you?
- Where has it caused you to hurt and do damage?
- How do you seek to curb its raw power over you?
Figure for Palm Sunday Procession. Archiepiscopal Museum, Craco,. (c) 2015, Allen Morris.