The Lord’s Day Passion (Palm) Sunday (Year A) The Watermead Apostolate offers this weekly newsletter as a helpful guide and background to the readings used at our Catholic Mass each Sunday. Watermead began in 1992 as a voice for people who wish to share understanding of living their faith through their various God-given gifts and talents. We frame these gifts by publishing them as books, cards and resources - and we record and publish the music. We also arrange retreats and pilgrimages. For information about the work of our apostolate, to download our resources or to offer newsletter contributions, do feel welcome to contact us at: Watermead Apostolate, The Watermead Centre, c/o St. Joseph’s, 12 Goodwood Road, Leicester LE5 6SG : Telephone 0044 (0)116 220 7881 / 7880 Download newsletters from www.watermead-apostolate.com Contact us via our Contact us Page or our shop website www.watermeadshop.co.uk First Reading Second Reading Gospel Reading Isaiah 50 : 4-7 Philippians 2 : 6-11 The Passion - Matthew 26:14-27:66 The Servant of God sings four songs in What a glorious hymn this is - the first we We are at the house of Simon the Leper the Book of Isaiah, all in the Book of have in the Christian Church. It comes as a (26:6). An unnamed woman anoints Jesus’ Consolation (chapters 40-55). Today’s surprise during a strong argument for unity head and the disciples complain about the reading is the third song. that Paul has been mounting in his letter waste - the ointment should/could have Chapter 50 opens in sadness and anger. from prison, around the years 56/57. In this been sold and the money given to the poor. There has been a divorce between the Lord generally friendly letter, Paul speaks about Mark tells this story with the same detail and Israel: for her many crimes she was his love for the people, remembering what (Mark 14:3-9), but when we read John sent away - but the Servant is blessed with he and they have shared and telling them (12:1-8) we discover that Simon is Lazarus a disciple’s tongue so that he might feed that in his imprisonment he is longing to die (of course - “Lazarus” means leper!) and and sustain God’s flock. Each day is new and to be with Christ. the woman is Mary, his sister, and she with hope, and the Servant’s hearing is Almost laughingly he wonders whether to anointed Jesus’ feet, not his head . . . blessed by the Lord so that he may always live or die (it’s not his choice!) but the Today’s reading begins. Judas plans to listen as a disciple. answer is that he will be happy with life or betray Jesus. The price is 30 shekels - the The suffering is borne patiently, with death because both are blessed: for Christ he fine imposed on the owner of an ox if it courage and without shame. The truth may do good for others, or with Christ he gored a slave to death. within what he speaks (“with a disciple’s will be happy in heaven. The evening of the Last Supper was tongue”) becomes invincible. The contrast, Paul is concerned that the Philippians may probably Tuesday, Jesus and the disciples we understand, is between the Servant lose the unity that had been theirs and he following the Lunar calendar in which 14th speaking to console the weary and his pleads that he wants no jealousies or Nisan (the Passover) was always bearing silently the insults of the ambitions: he wants them to be humble. Tuesday/Wednesday, whereas the Solar persecutors. The Servant trusts in the Lord. Hence the hymn which sings of Christ’s calendar varied the days for 14th Nisan. In humility, his emptying himself of being the week of Jesus’ death we know it was Wisdom from the Saints divine, becoming nothing that he might Friday/Saturday. become human. It is an extraordinary Jesus foretells the treachery of an apostle, image. We are all nothing before we are institutes the Eucharist, sadly answers conceived, but simply in the mind of God Peter’s promise of faithfulness and takes (Jeremiah 1:5). Jesus is pictured as the disciples to Gethsemane. Mark follows becoming like us - in the mind of God our the same pattern, but Luke tells it Creator before conception. differently, so does John. Only Matthew tells of Judas’ suicide THE DIVINE SON (27:3-10), of Pilate’s washing his hands The Servant suffers; (27:24-5), of tombs opening and bodies Kenosis - self-emptying; rising from the dead (27:51-52) and of Jesus is servant and human. placing the guard at the tomb (27:62-66). “Blessed Lamb of Calvary, let your spirit fall on me” This Holy week I shall . . . Questions of Faith Salvation Army be holy. And next week . . . Kenosis means “ emptying ” and the Church uses the word to express People of God Jesus’ sacrificing his divinity to Judas Iscariot appears in each of the Gospels but the only personal details are his become human. Today’s hymn is criticising the anointing of Jesus at the Bethany supper, his betraying Jesus and committing the root of this understanding, the suicide. His second name suggests Kerioth as the place from which he came, and when his doctrine stressing Jesus’ becoming father is referred to (John 6:71, 13:26) he is called Simon Iscariot. If we are right, Judas was human, a slave, in order to submit the only apostle to come from Judaea. There are two accounts of Judas’ death: in Matthew completely to God’s will. The death (27:3-10), Judas repents, confesses his sin, returns the money and then hangs himself; in on the cross was the final act of total Acts of the Apostles (1:18) Judas is said to have fallen and split his body so that his bowels obedience - and God exalted Jesus fell out. His death came to be associated with a place near Jerusalem, where several valleys by giving him the name above all meet, and was called the Field of Blood (Matthew 27:8). The story is desperately sad, and the other names: we call him Lord, fact that his father is remembered indicates a family sorrow that lived on . . . (the other named Christ the Lord. Fulfilment . . . Judas in the group of apostles we normally call Jude: he was a cousin of Jesus).