{"id":6775,"date":"2021-03-31T08:26:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T08:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/?post_type=article&p=6775"},"modified":"2021-03-31T08:32:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T08:32:12","slug":"gospel-reflection","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/article\/gospel-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Gospel Reflection: We must faithfully live our lives as Jesus did"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week is quite different to most other weeks in the church calendar, as we have two Gospel readings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Opposing reactions<\/h4>\n

The first is a short one. It tells us about the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. It is a time when the people of Jerusalem were shouting \u201cHosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d – something we repeat in our celebration of the eucharist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second Gospel reading, which is much longer, is about the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, told from the Gospel of Mark. In this Gospel reading, the Roman Governor Pilate asks the people who they want released and they choose Barabbas. He then asks what do the people want done with Jesus. The crowd responds \u201ccrucify him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The same people who only days before praised Jesus and celebrated his entrance into Jerusalem with palms and the laying down of garments in his path, now call for his death. A very painful and horrible death by crucifixion. What made them change their minds? They move from \u201cHosanna!\u201d to \u201ccrucify him!\u201d in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n

For us, if we were there in the crowds, with Jesus in front of us, what would we shout? Jesus entered Jerusalem, not as a warrior in the tradition of King David as many had hoped for, but riding simply on a donkey. The disciples and the crowd applauded him, but they proved fickle in their support. Are we sometimes fickle in our faith? Christian when it is easy, putting our faith aside when it is hard?<\/span><\/p>\n

The will of God<\/h4>\n

Today, we are quite rightly hearing a lot about victims – people, who through no choice or fault of their own, have been dealt with wrongly by others who are free to act otherwise and who know better. In some of the ways we think about the passion, Jesus becomes God\u2019s victim. Through no fault of his own, and seemingly powerless in the face of his Father\u2019s will, Jesus becomes a victim of God\u2019s need for a sacrifice, a ransom or atonement.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, many of us can feel that sometimes we are God\u2019s victims too, because if God wanted Jesus to suffer and die, why should we be surprised or complain when we receive large crosses to carry as well?<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s account of the passion tends to reinforce Jesus as a ‘victim’. Mark has Jesus eating with the outcasts, his friends betraying, denying or deserting him. He tells us that Jesus is terrified at the prospect of death and calls on his \u2018Abba\u2019 or Father to help him out. In the end he accepts \u2018the will of God\u2019 but even then feels abandoned by God on the cross.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A lesson in how to live<\/span><\/h4>\n

I often think we misread what Jesus is referring to when he accepts God\u2019s will in the garden. Rather than refer to the particular will of the Father to see Jesus suffer and die on Good Friday, I think it\u2019s more helpful and consoling to understand it as referring to God\u2019s will that Jesus remains faithful to the way he lived. If by doing that, Jesus threatened the religious and political authorities of his day so much that they have to murder him, then his death is the ultimate sacrifice that reveals how far God was prepared to go in demonstrating his love for us. This reveals to us that Jesus came \u2018to live\u2019, and that by faithfully living this life he was put to death by the powers of sin. Through the cross we see the price to be paid in confronting sin in our day and obediently living out the demands of God\u2019s Kingdom of justice and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

This Holy Week, let\u2019s celebrate that God spared nothing in showing us how to live. As we commemorate Jesus\u2019 life, death and resurrection, may we move from being victims of a bloodthirsty God to choosing again to follow Jesus\u2019 example and live lives which are faithful, loving and obedient. May we also appreciate that as Jesus was faithful to God and God to Jesus, so they will remain faithful to us as well, no matter what.<\/span><\/p>\n

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

May the joy and hope of the Risen Christ be with you and your families and I pray you have a safe and restful school break.<\/span><\/p>\n

Julie Monk<\/i><\/b><\/h6>\n
Religious Education Coordinator\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Palm Sunday and the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-6775","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/6775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}