Today our Lord Jesus Christ begins the journey that will take him through his Passion and Resurrection. While reflecting on the Passion story, our focus is on the love of Jesus that speaks to us through his suffering, the love which made him undergo his Passion.
So Jesus’ Passion is a sign of love, for it was the fulfilment of those words of Jesus Christ, “there is no greater love than a man laid down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
It is a revelation about love. It reveals to us that love entails suffering. Here, suffering means giving up something precious to you for the sake of others, in this case, one’s life.
It is an invitation to love others as Christ loves us. Jesus said, “Love one another, just as I love you” (John 15:12). Jesus invites us to do to others what he did for all – to give out something precious for the good and well-being of as many people around us as possible.
By the courage of Jesus to face his Passion and death out of love for us – He who knew what was going to happen before it did (for example, how his betrayal will happen, the pain he was going to undergo) and yet didn’t look back, we learn to face our little difficulties in our time with courage too. The first reading told us this prophecy of the courage and firmness of the servant of God in the face of all evil and opposition. That servant of God is Jesus, who, though God, became man(servant) for us and died. You and I are the children of God in our world today, who might face persecution, suffering, and death for the sake of Christ. Be courageous! Always remember that it didn’t end in the grave.
Let us journey then to the glorious resurrection, which is our hope.