Years ago, there were two words which I longed to hear on Palm Sunday - "short form." That meant we would be hearing the abridged version of the Passion of Christ when the Gospel was proclaimed and that we might get out of church 15 minutes sooner than if the full Passion was read. Chalk it up to the immaturity of my youth that I didn't have time to hear the greatest love story in history.
I'm no longer in such a hurry. I want to hear the full proclamation of the Passion of Christ, especially when it is done well. Given that we hear the greatest story ever told only on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, we should be grateful when we hear all of it.
Because the Passion can be overwhelming as we realize that the Son of God gave his life for us, we might do well to listen to it as a series of stories. As part of my Lenten reading, I used a booklet that provided daily meditations on various parts of John's account of Jesus' final hours. It helped me grow in my understanding of how great an act of love Jesus' death, and the events leading up to it, was.
Each of those steps -- betrayal by Judas, abandonment by his apostles, denial by Peter, sentencing to death, brutality of the soldiers, carrying the cross, and crucifixion and death n is a story unto itself. Each warrants time for reflection. But we really don't get that opportunity when the Passion is read. We move quickly from one event to the next; even with the long form we might not delve as deeply into these events as we should, as we need.
A key to understanding that story is putting ourselves in it. Rather than listening from afar, we need to be a part of it. What makes this difficult is where we would cast ourselves.
We like to believe we would have stood by Jesus, stayed awake with him, even died with him. We don't want to think that we could have been Judas betraying him, Peter denying him, a soldier beating him, or a member of the crowd screaming for his crucifixion. The most difficult questions we can ask ourselves are: Where would I have been that day? Where am I today?
Between now and Good Friday, retrace those final hours of Jesus. Go back and read each of the stories within Matthew's account of the Passion, and spend some time with it. Or pick one and use that as your Holy Week reflection. Read it daily. Imagine. Listen. Question. Pray. Respond.
There is no "short form" for the love Christ has for us, because it is endless. Consider that as you hear, read and reflect on the Passion. It is the never-ending story deserving of more than a short form.
Brian Olszewski writes from Milwaukee. You can contact him at olszewskib@archmil.org.
