This day is named after the Gospel readings that we will hear. The account of the entry into Jerusalem and the Palms the people waved is put against the account of the passion of Christ, his death for us told in excruciating detail. What are we to make of this contrast? How are we to apply this to our own lives?

The reading from Isaiah with the responsorial psalm and the famous Philippians hymn that is our second reading interpret these Gospels for us. God sees us as all the actors in the passion. We are the ones who wave the palms, the ones who drive the nails and the spear into the body of Christ, we are Mary and Peter and the apostles; but above all we are to be Christ for others, we are to lay down our life for the love of neighbor. And because of this call to accept the life of Christ with all its joy and pain, the glory and the suffering, we can expect to share in the lifting up of the Philippians hymn, sharing in the Lordship of Christ to the glory of the Father forever.

© 2004, OCP. All rights reserved.

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The end of Lent is near, Holy Week is only a week away, and so it is no surprise that these readings help us to prepare for the transition between the two. The powerful reading from Isaiah almost mocks the Passover events: the God of history, who always asks us to remember the wonders of old, tells us not to remember those days because something so much greater is coming. But what is constant is the reason God acts. The reason is to establish the relationship with the people, so that God may send blessings and the people send praise. This is the fundamental exchange of gifts that establishes us as the people of God. It is also the only thing that Saint Paul cares about - it is Jesus that matters, and nothing in this life amounts to anything by comparison with the call of God.

The Gospel for this last Sunday in Lent accents a different issue: judgment. After all the hard work we have done in fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we are prone at the end of Lent to seeing the whole exercise as a competition. But Jesus is clear - we need to examine our own lives, not those of our neighbors. And the Last word we hear on a Sunday of Lent is a reminder that sin is never acceptable. Lent is over, "from now on do not sin anymore."

© 2004, OCP. All rights reserved.

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Gospel Reading

The readings today present an interesting meditation on how God views time. The reading from Joshua, for example has the people of the Exodus celebrating the entry into the Promised Land on the same day, Passover, as they celebrated their departure from Egypt.

In the reading from Saint Paul, we hear about the new creation, the new time in which Christians live. It seems that just as the turning of the year and the celebration of the Passover from year to year allowed the people of the Exodus to make a new start, life in Christ is a continually new existence.

Proclaiming the text of Psalm 34, "I will bless the LORD at all times," takes on a deeper meaning when we consider this notion of God's time. So by the time we hear the Gospel of the prodigal son and the loving father, we are ready to understand that God gives us time in order to come to our senses, as the younger son did. And maybe that is the core of the message to the brother, that in fact he was too quick to close the door. Even now, on the fourth Sunday of Lent, God tells us that it is not too late to turn back and embrace the love God gives and the life God offers.

By Glenn CJ Byer, MA SLD

© 2004, OCP. All rights reserved.

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The readings for this day warn us that we cannot be passive in our relationship with God. In the case of he Gospel Jesus becomes agitated at the smugness of the people who think that just because they are alive they are somehow better than those who had died at the hand of Pontius Pilate. Jesus makes it clear those who died in the accidents he lists were not being killed because of their exceptional sinfulness. He passionately reminds us all that sinfulness is something that plagues us all and in the end kills us all. That Jesus will die at the hands of the same Pilate only adds poignancy to the scene. The example of Moses and his call adds to the call to action. Moses was surely leading a good life in Midian, but it was not enough; God calls Moses to action for the sake of the people. Lent is God's call to us to act. If we are living good lives, we need to know that it is never enough, that there is always more that we can do to bring the justice of God to the world.

© 2004, OCP. All rights reserved.

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