Sunday, March 28, 2021 (Liturgical Year B)
Mark 15:1-39
This Holy Week, let us walk with Jesus the full length of His journey. Let us not walk around the pain, but through it.
In today’s gospel, the ever-escalating conflict set forth in Mark reaches its apparent climax. It would be easy to skip over the uncomfortable events set forth in the Palm Sunday gospel in favor of the happier events of Easter. Today’s liturgy — and those of the coming days — call us to be fully present in the most painful moments of Jesus’ life.
Jesus worked passionately to convince the people of God’s love for them, and of the urgent need to love their neighbors — fully, and without any condition or regard for arbitrary statuses created and enforced by the religious establishment. His challenges were consistent and persistent. When that same religious establishment could no longer suppress His growing influence, they convinced the secular authorities He was a threat to their power. They were known for their brutal, thoughtless and heartless violence. When prodded by the religious authorities, they responded accordingly.
The pains of our lives may not seem as dramatic as The Passion, but like Jesus’ pain, they certainly run deep. We each have our own, and our own deep need of the healing only God can provide.
So, this Holy Week, let us walk with Jesus the full length of His journey. Let us not walk around the pain, but through it. Let us walk with Jesus as He walks with us.