Lectio: Ready, Set, Weep!

A Thought on the Gospel for Palm Sunday, Year C

Making an entrance is one of the most memorable things about a movie. Hear me out—everyone remembers Gandalf’s arrival at Helm’s Deep, Jack Sparrow strolling onto the dock from his sinking boat, Darth Vader’s march to the hallway of an enemy ship, or Indiana Jones’ risky pursuit of the artifact. A grand entrance can make a film move from enjoyable to legacy.

This is some of the association we have with Palm Sunday, yet the lectionary reading comes from the tradition of “Passion Sunday.” The early readings of the service’s Liturgy of the Palms focus on Jesus’ joyful entry, but the reading during the Lessons from Luke 22:14-23:56 (Luke 23:1-49 being the shortened) is an entry of its own. Beginning with the Last Supper of Jesus and continuing all the way through his burial, the Passion Gospel is an entire grand entrance into history. Tolkien’s word for this was eucatastrophe, which has to do with the triumph that comes out a sorrowful circumstance. The Passion is the entrance to what will be the ultimate eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation—the Resurrection.

Walking through the sorrows of Christ prepares us, after all the rest, for the joy that is coming. We are tired of lament and weary of weeping, but until we commune with Jesus and go from Body given to Body given, we are not ready for the Body we are going to receive.