Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion By Tobe Eze

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

At the Procession with Palms

GOSPEL
Matthew 21:1—11

At the Mass

FIRST READING
Isaiah 50:4—7

SECOND READING
Philippians 2:6—11

GOSPEL
Longer Form Matthew 26:14—27:66

THEME: LOOK BEYOND THE CROWD.

In one week time, the journey of our salvation which started on the Annunciation day will come to fulfillment. Jesus humbled himself, taking the form of a servant just to bring us salvation. Isaiah the prophet in today’s first reading is telling us exactly what Jesus did for our salvation. Jesus gave up everything, he did not talk just to give us salvation.

As Christians, many things are expected from and of us. We should learn from Jesus today who did not in his life time succumbed to the wishes of the crowd. The people we see today singing praises for us may also be the ones that will condemn us tomorrow. Jesus who looked beyond the crowd saw that it is best to be lifted up as recorded in the second reading by God not by crowd. In (John 6:15) after feeding of five thousand men excluding children and women, the crowd was trying to make him king which he did not accept for he know what crowd can be. The best king is the one made by God.

Crowd is a faceless identity. It is this same crowd today in the first Gospel was shouting Hosanna, throwing branches and clothes for Jesus to walk on them. On good Friday it will also be the same crowd that will shout crucify him crucify him. Jesus encountered many crowds in his life time but he was seeing beyond what ordinary men can see about crowd. Continue Reading

5th Sunday of Lent Year A By Tobe Eze

5th Sunday of Lent Year A

FIRST READING

Ezekiel 37:12-14

SECOND READING

Romans 8:8-11

GOSPEL

John 11:1-45

THEME: GOD CAN RAISE OUR DEAD SITUATIONS TO LIFE AGAIN.

My fellow Christians, we are drawing closer to the great event of our salvation, which is Easter. Today’s readings are telling us also like that of last week how God can bring out fortunes from our misfortunes. In the first reading today, the prophet Ezekiel is giving us hope that our dry bones will rise again. And the second reading is trying to make us understand that, it is only through living in the spirit that our dry bones will rise again. The Gospel makes it clearer that if we are living our lives in spirit, Jesus will cry to his father in our own dead situations like he cried for his friend Lazarus who was dead. Continue Reading