Fr. Roger J. Landry
St. John the Evangelist Parish, Encinitas, CA
Palm Sunday
April 14, 2019
Lk 19:28-40, Is 50:4-7, Ps 22, Phil 2:6-11, Lk 22:14-23:56
To listen to an audio recording of the homily, please click below:
The following text guided the homily:
The meaning of Holy Week
We have now begun the week that the Church calls “holy.” It’s holy, first, because of all Jesus Christ did during these days, from the triumphal entry into his city at the beginning of this Mass, to his teaching in the Temple, to the Last Supper, to his prayer in Gethsemane, to his arrest, torture, crucifixion, preaching and death on Good Friday, to his rest in the tomb, and his glorious resurrection on the third day. It’s also called holy because it’s meant to make us holy, if we live this week the right way, if we enter into the mysteries we celebrate, if we internalize all Jesus won for us during these most holy of days. Holy Week is supposed to be our most faith-filled week of the year, but that requires our choosing to make it the most faith-filled week of the year.
Right before the passage of today’s second reading from the Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us to have in us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, who humbled himself to the point of death on the Cross. Holy Week is meant to help us enter into the mind and heart of Jesus. Today in the Gospel at the beginning of Mass and in the Passion we just recited, we see five different ways we’re called to enter into Jesus and respond to him with faith this week so that he through these sacred mysteries may fulfill his desire to save and sanctify us.
Welcoming Jesus
The first thing we learn is how to welcome Jesus.
There was great expectation as to whether Jesus was coming to the feast. Many thought he wouldn’t because they had heard the rumors that the chief priests and the Sanhedrin were trying to arrest Jesus and have him executed. But Jesus came anyway. And we see how the people responded. St. Matthew tells us, “The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following, [especially the young people,] kept crying out, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” There was tremendous excitement. People came out of their homes. They laid down their clothes on the road, something they would do only for a king. They saw him riding on a donkey, just as David had Solomon do when he made him a king (1 Kings 1:33, 38). They recognized that this was the fulfillment of Zechariah’s Messianic prophecy, “Say to daughter Zion, ‘Behold your King comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
Their attitude shows us the type of exhilaration we should have to welcome Jesus this Holy Week. We should be running out of our homes. We should be praising him with our words, with our gestures like waving palms, with our clothes, and with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength. Our life should change as we seek to come out to welcome Jesus as he during this week seeks to rescue us from sin and death and make eternal life possible.
If we’re looking for an even deeper image of how we’re supposed to welcome Jesus and live this Holy Week we can turn to the donkey that Jesus used to enter into the Holy City. Jesus had sent two disciples ahead of him, saying, “Go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The Master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” And that’s precisely what happened. We’re called to serve Jesus like that donkey. The Master has need of us this week.
As we were processing into the Church today, we sang together the classic Palm Sunday hymn, “All Glory, Laud and Honor, which is a 19th century translation of a hymn that has been sung by Christians on this day for 1200 years. When the Anglican translator John Neale was bringing this ancient prayer into English, however, he intentionally omitted one of the verses because he thought during the Victorian era in Britain that to mention the English typical word for “donkey” — “jackass” or “ass” for short — would have negative consequences in people’s prayer. But in excluding that verse he also left out what we all can learn from the donkey. The Latin words were, “Sis pius ascensor, tuus et nos simus asellus. Tecum nos capitat urbs veneranda Dei,” which can be translated in lyrical English as, “Be thou, O Lord, the Rider and we the little ass, that to God’s holy city, together we may pass.” Jesus wants to enter the Holy City with us. He wants us to collaborate with him in this work of his salvation.
St. Josemaria Escriva, the great 20th century apostle of the sanctification of the laity, sought to imitate and help others to emulate this donkey in welcoming Jesus and assisting his work. He wrote, “There are hundreds of animals more beautiful, more deft and strong. But it was a donkey Christ chose when he presented himself to the people as king in response to their acclamation.” Jesus wants us, like a donkey, to be a docile, diligent, steady companion. That’s the type of cooperation Jesus wants in all of us this Holy Week.
What’s Jesus worth?
The second thing we learn is how to value Jesus appropriately.
At the beginning of the Passion account, Judas goes to the Chief Priests and the Scribes and asks, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?” They gave him 30 pieces of silver, which likely meant the 30 shekels of silver that it cost to purchase a slave. One shekel of silver was about 3 days wages. And so Judas got the equivalent of about 90 days wages, or a quarter-of-a-year’s salary. For someone making $40,000 today, that would be about $10,000 in today’s money. Judas took the deal.
It raises the question for us as to how much we value Jesus. Would we take $10,000 to betray him? What about $100,000? What about $1 billion? Do we have a price for betraying Jesus? The reality is that some people today betray Jesus not for 90 days wages but for one day’s wage, putting work above worship on the Lord’s day. Many account Jesus less valuable than an extra hour’s sleep. Some sell him out for soccer practice. We need to be candid about these betrayals.
If we’re going to live Holy Week — and life — the way God wants, we need to commit ourselves never to sell Jesus out.
We see an example of someone who would never betray Jesus in the scene that occurred right before the Palm Sunday procession. Jesus was in the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus in Bethany. Mary came and anointed Jesus with costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and dried Jesus’ feet with her hair. Judas — who as Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said knew the price of everything and the true value of nothing — objected, “Why was this oil not sold for 300 days wages and given to the poor?” She wasted basically a full year’s salary anointing Jesus’ feet! Jesus, however, defended her, not because he wanted such attention, but because of the love that was behind her gesture. “She has done a beautiful thing to me,” he said. “She has anointed my body beforehand for burying and wherever the Gospel is preached what she did will be told of her.”
We need to ask ourselves the question: What are we going to do in anticipation of Jesus’ burial? Are we going to “waste” our time, “waste” our money, “waste” our lives on Jesus like Mary did, or are we going to say that Jesus isn’t worth it? Mary of Bethany was willing to spend 6/7 of her annual salary on Jesus. What sacrifices are we willing to make for him who made the supreme sacrifice for us?
Strengthening our Weak Flesh through Prayer
The third thing the readings today teach us is how important it is to stay awake with Jesus in prayer.
We see what happened with St. Peter and the other apostles. St. Matthew describes that when they arrived in Gethsemane, Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed.’” Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.” Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter forcefully retorted, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” St. Mark tells us all the disciples spoke likewise. But we know that within a few hours Peter three times denied knowing Jesus and all of the other disciples abandoned him as well. During the Last Supper shortly before, Jesus had said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” He could have save more accurately, “Amen, I say to you, all of you will betray me?”
But the question for us is why. Why did they betray the one they truly loved? We can somewhat understand why Judas treacherously betrayed Jesus. But why did Peter and the others? Jesus gave the explanation to Peter and to us in the Garden of Gethsemane. He brought Peter, James and John with him to a secluded place of the Garden to pray with him, but when he returned to where the three apostles were, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Peter’s spirit would never betray the Lord, but his flesh was frail and needed to be fortified in order to remain faithful.
As we enter into this Holy Week, Jesus wants us to come away with him and pray that we may not undergo the test, that our flesh might be strengthened to be faithful like our spirit wants to be faithful. Like Peter, we who have so often professed our faith in Jesus have fallen when the temptations have struck, temptations to hide our faith in him in the front of family members, or coworkers, or fellow students or the general public. We’ve failed to remain faithful when tempted toward all types of sins. We’ll be tempted again this week to focus on all types of other things than to focus on the Lord Jesus. Jesus says to us, what he said to Peter, James and John, “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. For the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” He wants to strengthen us through prayer to remain true to him under trial, as he was faithful all the way to the end.
Jesus asks us to come away and pray with him, however, not just to help strengthen our flesh to withstand temptations, but simply because he wants our solidarity. Back in 2012, Pope-emeritus Benedict said, Jesus “does not want to be left alone. … He wants at least three disciples to be near him, to be in a closer relationship with him. This is a spacial closeness, a plea for solidarity at the moment in which he feels death approaching, but above all it is closeness in prayer, in a certain way to express harmony with him at the moment when he is preparing to do the Father’s will to the very end; and it is an invitation to every disciple to follow him on the Way of Cross.” Pope Benedict concludes, “The Gospel accounts of Gethsemane regretfully show that the three disciples, chosen by Jesus to be close to him, were unable to watch with him, sharing in his prayer, in his adherence to the Father and they were overcome by sleep. … Let us ask the Lord to enable us to keep watch with him in prayer, to follow the will of God every day even if he speaks of the Cross, to live in ever greater intimacy with the Lord.”
Jesus wants us all to come away with him and pray during these holy days. He wants our company. He wants to strengthen us. Please make a commitment to come to be with Jesus so that he may strengthen and sanctify you this week as he wants to.
Choosing Jesus
The fourth thing today’s readings teach us is about the dramatic choice we’re called to make.
After Pontius Pilate recognized that Jesus was being framed, he wanted to set him free, but he wanted to do it in a way in which the crowd would take responsibility for his liberation rather than he take it, so that he wouldn’t be so vulnerable to retaliation if the Sanhedrin reported him to his superiors in Rome. So he proposed, according to custom at Passover time, to set free one prisoner, and he chose a “notorious” one he never could have imagined the crowds would choose over the innocent Jesus. And he asked, “Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, called Messiah?” Spurred on by the chief priests and the elders, only five days after they hailed Jesus saying “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” the mob in the praetorium shouted, “Barabbas!” Pilate, shocked, said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” And St. Matthew tells us the crowd yelled, “Let him be crucified!” Pilate was aghast, saying, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!” And so Pilate, a true coward, assented.
We’ve heard the name Barabbas so many times that the choice that was made in that courtyard doesn’t shock us as much as it startled Pontius Pilate. But to update it in today’s terms, to choose Barabbas then would be like choosing Osama bin Laden or Ted Bundy or Adolf Hitler over Jesus. Pilate nominated someone that he never thought the crowd would choose over Jesus and yet the crowd not only chose the insurrectionist, thief and murderer but clamored for Jesus’ crucifixion!
We might look back and say that we would never have done that if we were present in Pilate’s courtyard that day. But as Archbishop Sheen says in his beautiful Stations of the Cross, “How would I have answered that question had I been in the courtyard that Good Friday morning? I cannot escape answering by saying that the question belongs only to the past, for it is as actual now as ever. My conscience is the tribunal of Pilate. Daily, hourly, and every minute of the day, Christ comes before that tribunal, as virtue, honesty, and purity. Barabbas comes as vice, dis¬honesty, and uncleanness. As often as I choose to speak the uncharitable word, do the dishonest action, or consent to the evil thought, I say in so many words, ‘Release unto me Barabbas.’ And to choose Barabbas means to crucify Christ.”
Choosing Jesus on the most momentous occasions comes from choosing Jesus repeatedly and faithfully in small decisions, choosing to pray, choosing to receive his forgiveness and share it, choosing to love him in our neighbor, choosing to ponder his words in the Bible rather than spending our time watching or reading the news, choosing to make him in the Eucharist the source and summit of our life. To live a truly Holy Week, we must choose Jesus over all of the tempting Barabbases that will come our way. And we’ll be tempted by Barabbas in disguise this week, to put something more important than God on Holy Thursday, or Good Friday, or Holy Saturday. Stay alert!
Becoming Simons of Cyrene
The last thing that the readings teach us to live Holy Week well is our need to help Jesus carry his Cross
St. Matthew tells us, “As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they compelled into service to carry his cross.” Simon didn’t want to do it. They needed to force him. But he did it and over the course of the journey he was transformed, such that not only he became a disciple but his whole family did, such that his sons Rufus and Alexander became leading members and missionaries among the first generation of Christian disciples.
Similarly, this week, God the Father is compelling us to help his Son carry his Cross. Jesus said that we cannot be his disciples unless we deny ourselves, pick up our Cross each day and follow him. That’s a condition for the entire year, but especially in Holy Week, it’s a particularly pressing summons. Jesus wants us to be co-redeemers with him, to make up what is lacking in his sufferings for the sake of the salvation of the world. As he was dying, he was incorporating into himself all our sacrifices, all our crosses, united with his. He continues to carry his Cross through time, in all the suffering members of his body. This week is a week in which we help him carry his Cross by helping others carry theirs, by visiting and consoling the sick, by offering to drive the infirm or elderly to the services during the Triduum, by finishing well, even heroically, the Lenten call to almsgiving. The Father compels us like the Romans compelled Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry his Cross because if we’re carrying the Cross we Jesus we will be near him, we will be united with him, we will be collaborating with him throughout this week, which is exactly how this week will be holy and make us holy.
To welcome Jesus, to value him appropriately, to accompany him in prayer, to choose him over every Barabbas, and to help him carry his redeeming Cross, that is the means by which we will live with faith this most important week of the year. That’s the pathway by which Jesus will make us holy like he is holy during this special week of sanctification.
Living Holy Week Every Mass
There is no better place to start on those five activities than here at Palm Sunday Mass. The Mass we celebrate is in itself Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday altogether in one. In a few minutes we again will shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.” We will enter into the Upper Room. We will climb Calvary where we will be not just witnesses but participants in the very same death of the Lord once-and-for-all for us and our salvation. And through receiving his risen Body and Blood, we will leave with him from the tomb of death and get a foretaste of the eternal wedding banquet in that kingdom Jesus won for us by the very passion, death and resurrection we will be celebrating this week and celebrate now.
The readings for today’s Mass were:
At The Procession With Palms – Gospel LK 19:28-40
As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany
at the place called the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples.
He said, “Go into the village opposite you,
and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered
on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here.
And if anyone should ask you,
‘Why are you untying it?’
you will answer,
‘The Master has need of it.'”
So those who had been sent went off
and found everything just as he had told them.
And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them,
“Why are you untying this colt?”
They answered,
“The Master has need of it.”
So they brought it to Jesus,
threw their cloaks over the colt,
and helped Jesus to mount.
As he rode along,
the people were spreading their cloaks on the road;
and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of his disciples
began to praise God aloud with joy
for all the mighty deeds they had seen.
They proclaimed:
“Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
“Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
He said in reply,
“I tell you, if they keep silent,
the stones will cry out!”
At The Mass – Reading IIS 50:4-7
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Responsorial Psalm PS 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.
All who see me scoff at me;
they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
“He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
let him rescue him, if he loves him.”
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
They divide my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!”
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Reading 2 PHIL 2:6-11
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Verse Before The Gospel PHIL 2:8-9
Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
Gospel LK 22:14—23:56
Jesus took his place at table with the apostles.
He said to them,
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again
until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said,
“Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I tell you that from this time on
I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes.”
Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me.”
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which will be shed for you.
“And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me
is with me on the table;
for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined;
but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.”
And they began to debate among themselves
who among them would do such a deed.
Then an argument broke out among them
about which of them should be regarded as the greatest.
He said to them,
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them
and those in authority over them are addressed as ‘Benefactors’;
but among you it shall not be so.
Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest,
and the leader as the servant.
For who is greater:
the one seated at table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one seated at table?
I am among you as the one who serves.
It is you who have stood by me in my trials;
and I confer a kingdom on you,
just as my Father has conferred one on me,
that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom;
and you will sit on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
“Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded
to sift all of you like wheat,
but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;
and once you have turned back,
you must strengthen your brothers.”
He said to him,
“Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you.”
But he replied,
“I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows this day,
you will deny three times that you know me.”
He said to them,
“When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack or sandals,
were you in need of anything?”
“No, nothing, ” they replied.
He said to them,
“But now one who has a money bag should take it,
and likewise a sack,
and one who does not have a sword
should sell his cloak and buy one.
For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me,
namely, He was counted among the wicked;
and indeed what is written about me is coming to fulfillment.”
Then they said,
“Lord, look, there are two swords here.”
But he replied, “It is enough!”
Then going out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives,
and the disciples followed him.
When he arrived at the place he said to them,
“Pray that you may not undergo the test.”
After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling,
he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing,
take this cup away from me;
still, not my will but yours be done.”
And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.
He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently
that his sweat became like drops of blood
falling on the ground.
When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples,
he found them sleeping from grief.
He said to them, “Why are you sleeping?
Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.”
While he was still speaking, a crowd approached
and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas.
He went up to Jesus to kiss him.
Jesus said to him,
“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked,
“Lord, shall we strike with a sword?”
And one of them struck the high priest’s servant
and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said in reply,
“Stop, no more of this!”
Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.
And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards
and elders who had come for him,
“Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
Day after day I was with you in the temple area,
and you did not seize me;
but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.”
After arresting him they led him away
and took him into the house of the high priest;
Peter was following at a distance.
They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it,
and Peter sat down with them.
When a maid saw him seated in the light,
she looked intently at him and said,
“This man too was with him.”
But he denied it saying,
“Woman, I do not know him.”
A short while later someone else saw him and said,
“You too are one of them”;
but Peter answered, “My friend, I am not.”
About an hour later, still another insisted,
“Assuredly, this man too was with him,
for he also is a Galilean.”
But Peter said,
“My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.”
Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed,
and the Lord turned and looked at Peter;
and Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said to him,
“Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
He went out and began to weep bitterly.
The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him.
They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
“Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
And they reviled him in saying many other things against him.
When day came the council of elders of the people met,
both chief priests and scribes,
and they brought him before their Sanhedrin.
They said, “If you are the Christ, tell us, ”
but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,
and if I question, you will not respond.
But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated
at the right hand of the power of God.”
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied to them, “You say that I am.”
Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony?
We have heard it from his own mouth.”
Then the whole assembly of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
They brought charges against him, saying,
“We found this man misleading our people;
he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar
and maintains that he is the Christ, a king.”
Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
He said to him in reply, “You say so.”
Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds,
“I find this man not guilty.”
But they were adamant and said,
“He is inciting the people with his teaching throughout all Judea,
from Galilee where he began even to here.”
On hearing this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean;
and upon learning that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was very glad to see Jesus;
he had been wanting to see him for a long time,
for he had heard about him
and had been hoping to see him perform some sign.
He questioned him at length,
but he gave him no answer.
The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile,
stood by accusing him harshly.
Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him,
and after clothing him in resplendent garb,
he sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and Pilate became friends that very day,
even though they had been enemies formerly.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, “You brought this man to me
and accused him of inciting the people to revolt.
I have conducted my investigation in your presence
and have not found this man guilty
of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us.
So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”
But all together they shouted out,
“Away with this man!
Release Barabbas to us.”
— Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion
that had taken place in the city and for murder. —
Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus,
but they continued their shouting,
“Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate addressed them a third time,
“What evil has this man done?
I found him guilty of no capital crime.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”
With loud shouts, however,
they persisted in calling for his crucifixion,
and their voices prevailed.
The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted.
So he released the man who had been imprisoned
for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked,
and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.
As they led him away
they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian,
who was coming in from the country;
and after laying the cross on him,
they made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd of people followed Jesus,
including many women who mourned and lamented him.
Jesus turned to them and said,
“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me;
weep instead for yourselves and for your children
for indeed, the days are coming when people will say,
‘Blessed are the barren,
the wombs that never bore
and the breasts that never nursed.’
At that time people will say to the mountains,
‘Fall upon us!’
and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
for if these things are done when the wood is green
what will happen when it is dry?”
Now two others, both criminals,
were led away with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull,
they crucified him and the criminals there,
one on his right, the other on his left.
Then Jesus said,
“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
They divided his garments by casting lots.
The people stood by and watched;
the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said,
“He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”
Above him there was an inscription that read,
“This is the King of the Jews.”
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
“Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”
It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon
because of an eclipse of the sun.
Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”;
and when he had said this he breathed his last.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said,
“This man was innocent beyond doubt.”
When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened,
they returned home beating their breasts;
but all his acquaintances stood at a distance,
including the women who had followed him from Galilee
and saw these events.
Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who,
though he was a member of the council,
had not consented to their plan of action.
He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea
and was awaiting the kingdom of God.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
After he had taken the body down,
he wrapped it in a linen cloth
and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb
in which no one had yet been buried.
It was the day of preparation,
and the sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind,
and when they had seen the tomb
and the way in which his body was laid in it,
they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils.
Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.
