LESSON OF HUMILITY AND PATIENCE IN SUFFERING.

March 28, 2021
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion - B.

Readings: Mk 11:1-10; or Jn 12:12-16; Is 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1—15:47.

A Latin proverb says, “Experience purchased by suffering teaches wisdom.” And a Danish proverb adds, “Suffering and patience, obedience and application, help the lowly born to honor.”

As we open this great and holy week, we also open today a special page of each one's life, the page of holiness through the forgiveness of God. We are seven days before Easter. We celebrate today the Palms Sunday, the day in which Jesus entered gloriously and over the acclamations of the crowds in the Holy City. Besides the aspect of glory, the Palms Sunday opens also to the greatest humility and suffering. Thus, the liturgical calling of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. For, Jesus opens today his passion that will lead to his death and glorification in his resurrection. This Sunday teaches the Christian community a beautiful lesson on the pedagogy of God. We are told that passion leads to glorification, and suffering to life. Through his humility and patient endurance of the cross, the Lord Jesus inaugurated the perfect glory which is not without trials.

Our today's liturgy, through its two parts emphasizes well this fact. The rite of the blessing of the Palms and the procession prefigures the glory that will flow from the passion and death of the Lord. The one who will be humiliated and rejected the current of this week will also rise unto glory on the seventh day of the week. Therefore, we understand that perfect glory comes from patently endured tribulations.

The first gospel passage that opens up our celebration is a song of "Hosanna" and praises. The triumph of Jesus is sung by all. The first reading and the second Gospel passage, however, immerse us into the reality of suffering and trials. The suffering servant of God, in the prophetic vision of Isaiah, is the prototype of Christ, the lamb who will patiently suffer without saying a word and accept in humility all kinds of humiliations. The servant of God is the incarnation of the virtues of humility and patience. With Isaiah, we read that, even though suffering, he did not cover his face against insult. He knew well that God will never let him down or lead him to shame.

Suffering and passion, in the pedagogy of God, do not lead to shame and disgrace. He who accepts to suffer with the Lord and for him can always be assured of his glory and victory. The perfect example of these sayings is Jesus himself. He suffered his passion without being abandoned by God, and that lead to his resurrection in glory.

The dialogic narrative of the passion of Christ is a message of humility, patience, and glory. And St. Paul, in the second reading, speaks of the humility of Christ that should impact every one of his followers. Christ humbled himself until the suffering of the cross, and so, God raised him from death and glorified him.

There is a popular and common dictum that, "humility precedes glory." The glory that is not learned in patience and humility opens to arrogance and pride. Many are they who suffer today, but because of lacking patience and humility, their suffering does not benefit their glorification. On the other hand, many Christians are afraid to suffer and reject all that sounds like trials and tribulations. If Jesus had rejected his cross and did not undergo his passion, would any one of us be saved from our sins?

We live in a world that has horror of difficulties and tribulations. You can ask all you want from people, but never ask them to suffer, no matter the reason. Many people inflict the worse tribulation and persecution on others but are not ready to undergo it by themselves. This Sunday's liturgy comes like good news that not all the sufferings we go through will damn or destroy us. Some of our crosses are the necessary and undeniable way for our glorification. And besides, if we accept the hatred of people with faith and patience, God will never forsake us.

I read somewhere that, “As long as we make it our goal to pursue happiness, we will always avoid suffering. No one would choose to suffer unless there was a good and certain purpose for it. If needed, they would be willing to suffer. We learn from Jesus that, sometimes, it is God's will that we go through difficult times. If we know the purpose of suffering, we are much more able to endure it. As God's children, we can trust Him that He is always accomplishing a great good through the suffering of His loved ones.” Here is a basic truth, every person experiences suffering during this life. There is no getting around it. The question is when suffering comes our way, will we see it as an opportunity to outwardly turn toward Christ or as a curse that turns us inwardly and away from Christ? Our response to this question has a profound impact on the way we choose to live life and on the salvation of our soul. He is the perfect time to reflect on our daily sufferings. This week is that of our salvation. May we walk it with Christ thus, after the trials, we may savor victory and glory with him.