The switch in mood during the liturgy of this Sunday from the triumphal entry at the beginning of Mass to the cry of despair in the gospel proclamation is enough to give you whiplash. We move from “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” to “Crucify him. Crucify him” in a few short minutes. The change from crowds celebrating Jesus as the “master” and the “teacher” to the soldiers mocking him as “king of the Jews” is abrupt. Even the official title of this Sunday on the liturgical calendar – “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” – has an inbuilt shift. Is this Sunday about the triumph of royal procession or about the tragedy of cross-bearing? Is it about acclamation or accusation? Does it celebrate success or describe failure? My suspicion is that St. Luke would not see the distinctions in quite that way. For the evangelist, the entry into Jerusalem was not so much a triumph as a tragedy because of the crowd’s misunderstanding of the mission of Jesus. And the crucifixion was not so much a tragedy as the triumph of Jesus in fidelity to the will of God. Looking at these texts with gospel eyes helps us to re-evaluate that most frequent and yet most feared of all human experience: suffering. The story of the suffering of Jesus is not there merely for our edification but for our imitation.
Holy Week – the recalling of the events of our salvation – demonstrates that Jesus suffers as one of us. Not for him to be above it all, serenely riding so that even his feet don’t get dirty. Rather, he shares in the suffering which is part and parcel of human life. The aches and the pains, the worry and the dread, the abuse and misuse which we all go through in life Jesus went through. And since he suffered it, all of those human situations have a divine significance. The troubles of this world which we share with Jesus are caught up into the mystery of God. Since Jesus endured suffering as we do, we aren’t supposed to look on our plight as being trapped in the muck. Rather, we are in solidarity with the one who showed us that suffering does not get the last word in the plan of God.
Holy Week also illustrates that Jesus suffers with us. Instead of claiming some royal prerogative which would isolate him from the masses, Jesus embraces the human condition. Been given some bad news by the doctor? Jesus is with you in that. Had to cope with heartbreak in the family? Jesus is with you in that. Is mourning the loss of a loved one part of your story? Jesus is with you in that. Do people misunderstand and criticize you? Jesus is with you in that. The entire spectrum that characterizes human life, particularly suffering, is something we have in common with Jesus. No matter what we have to go through Jesus is with us.
And perhaps most importantly Holy Week tells us that Jesus suffers for us. The idea of suffering for another is not foreign to what we know. Parents give up certain things they would like to have or do for the sake of their children. Husbands and wives don’t act as they had before they were married in the interest of the life they have in common. We might sacrifice a Saturday afternoon with a friend who is in need. So we can suffer for those who matter to us, for those who mean something to us. The amazing thing about the suffering that Jesus endures for us is that we don’t deserve it. Jesus suffers for the thief hanging next to him. Jesus suffers for the unworthy and the unwashed. Jesus suffers for those who don’t know or want to know his name. Jesus suffers for the low-down and the lost. Jesus suffers for us while we are still sinners. It is the example of his surprising love even for the worst of us that helps us make sense of the suffering that is woven into our lives. We don’t have to get right in order to have God. Jesus has already paid the price.
Society, the world, our instincts all see as the primary value preserving ourselves from suffering. If I just didn’t have to go through this, everything would be better. If people cheered for me instead of jeered at me, life would be good. The journey of Jesus during Holy Week from teaches us otherwise. Jesus does not save us from suffering but through suffering. Because of what he went through everything that we have to go through looks different. Suffering is not the enemy but transforming fire. Being faithful through a time of doubt leads us to peace. Having hope in the midst of distress leads to salvation. Keeping love in a world of woe leads us to glory. Through the suffering of Jesus our world is made anew. Joining our suffering with his makes us a new creation. When we spend our Holy Week, when we live our lives, in him and with him and for him and through him, then the joy of Easter is given as blessed assurance.