This Palm Sunday I’m reflecting on the first reading from the prophet Isaiah. I’m especially struck by these words:
“Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord has opened my ear.”
The liturgy for Palm Sunday can be a bit of a challenge. There’s so much going on that it can leave me feeling a bit distracted. So my hope is that the attentive listening Isaiah calls me to will help me find where I need to focus in order to best hear the words the Lord has for me this year.
The reading of the passion compels us to face some challenging truths. The Jewish New Testament scholar, Amy Jill Levine points out that the passion is a powerful story. If we let it, it can speak to & change our hearts, listening to it becomes a risky & uncomfortable business.
As we watch the disciples struggle through it with a mixture of failure and courage, hope and despair our own consciences are pricked. It calls us to reflect on where we have misunderstood, betrayed, or fallen asleep when we should have been awake to the suffering of those around us.
As we see Jesus condemned and moving towards crucifixion it’s hard to avoid some hard questions about the value we place on life, our own lives and the lives of others, especially the lives of those who are pushed to the margins.
As we move into Palm Sunday where is Christ calling you to wake up and listen?