The Word today, PalmA
- Admin
- Mar 28
- 6 min read
March 30 - April 04, 2026
Isaiah 42:1-7 The crucifixion of Jesus was a real challenge to the first Christians. When trying to understand the “what” and the “why”, they went back to their Bible (our “Old Testament”). Four poems in Isaiah, called today the Songs of the Suffering Servant, were very helpful to them and today we hear the first of these poems.
John 12:1-11 The role of Judas — always fascinating to people — becomes darker in the later New Testament. Here is character is blackened further by his desire for money. The Gospel established the drama of Holy Week.
Isaiah 49:1-6 Today, the lectionary gives us the second of the Suffering Servant Songs. This particular one echoes the call of a prophet and portrays the great trust of God’s messenger.
John 13:21-33; 36-38 In the Fourth Gospel, Judas is vilified at each mention (John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 11, 26, 29; 18:2–3, 5). Lest we miss what is really happening, the evangelist adds two notes. The first is evident: After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. The second oblique: As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen. This is not the night of clock time but the hour of darkness. In the words of the Paschal Sequence, Death with life contended: combat strangely ended! Life's own Champion, slain, yet lives to reign. The Light of World (John 8:10 and 9:5) faces into the night of death on our behalf. But we know from the Prologue how this will end: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5).
Isaiah 50:4-9 The third Song of the Servant is very striking. There is a wealth of “body” language (ear, back, beard, face) but the real message is spiritual: listening, nonviolence and faith.
Matthew 26:15-25 We move to Matthew’s Gospel for a second account of the betrayal of Judas. During the joyful feast Passover, the dreadful judgement of Judas is given. This is quite frightening and puzzling. It is frightening because of what is said of Judas: It would have been better for that one not to have been born (Matt 26:24). Later on, in the same Gospel, we hear of his suicide: Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself (Matt 27:5). However the historical Judas understood his actions, by it the time the Gospels were written he was being held up as a grim example of what can happen even to someone who knew Jesus. It is also puzzling because somehow the dark deed of Judas made possible the events that gave us new life in Christ.
Exodus 12:1-14 This passage reflects a long history, with the final shape reflecting later Passover practices. The origins of what became the Passover may to back to agrarian spring fertility rites, offerings of the first fruits of the flocks and of the crops (nomadic / settled). These practises were then linked then to the Exodus and ever after as a memorial or zikkron.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 The context in the community is strife and division, especially along the lines of rich / poor. It seems clear that the poor members are being disparaged and not properly recognised as equally members of the body of Christ. Paul does offer an immensely practical solution, but behind it lies his great theology of the body of Christ.
John 13:1-15 This story is unique to John, although it echoes parable-like sayings in the other Gospels. The washing of the feet belongs to the category of prophetic gesture — well-known in the Old and New Testaments — by which a prophet illustrates his meaning. The washing replaces the action with the bread and the wine, but has the same function, that is, to disclose the inner meaning of Jesus’ death.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 In Second Isaiah (40-55), God’s help to Israel is expressed in three ways: creation/redemption, the vindication of the Servant and the return to Zion. In particular, there are four Suffering Servant Songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-11 and 52:13-53:12). Scholars have struggled to establish the meaning at the time of writing and Jewish readings note the parallel with the ministry of Jeremiah (Jer 10:18-24; 11:19) and similarities with other texts in Isaiah. At these same time, these poems have proved an especially rich resource for early Christian reflection on the cross. Today’s passage is the most striking of the four.
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-10 These two passages are probably the best-known and best-loved from the Letter to the Hebrews. The Letter as a whole is a highly sophisticated document, with a somewhat tortuous style. The author alternates between reflection on the Christ event, seen through the lens of the Temple, and exhortation, presented as practical advice.
John 18:1-19:42 All the accounts of Jesus’ death tell fundamentally the same story. However, the details vary considerably and are highly significant. It is not just a question of what people remembered. The added stories and words consistently reflect the understanding each Gospel writer offers of the meaning of the cross and resurrection. The primary frame in this Gospel is new creation. In the Triduum, we celebrate the great events that gave us new life in Christ and the Fourth Gospel is especially rich, offering six “lenses” through which look at the cross and the resurrection. These perspectives are established early in the Gospel and sustained throughout. The entire narrative is directed towards the events of salvation, so it is no surprise that all six perspectives are registered in John’s passion narrative.
Exodus 15:15-15:1 This story of liberation—even with its disturbing dimensions—dramatically portrays God as a God of liberation. This readings has inspired people over the centuries, especially the oppressed, because our God desires us to be free. Historical Note Behind our text there may well be an ancient memory of a slave escape, written up theatrically, perhaps during the much later Babylonian Exile. It became the foundation myth of the Israelites (myth in the strong sense!!).
Romans 6:3-11 In the letter, Paul argues from many angles. At this point, he is trying to get the Roman Christians to registers in their minds all they have received and, he hopes, in light of that to be able to set aside their differences. No one knows who founded the Roman churches—certainly not Paul. As noted in the Initial Observations, the community split along Jewish and Gentile lines. The presenting issue was how much of the received Jewish tradition should be insisted upon. What happened in Rome mattered Paul because it touched the heart of his Gospel—the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in Christ—and because it was happening in the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Matthew 28:1-10 In all four Gospels, there are empty tomb proclamation narratives. The original Mark lacked any resurrection appearance narrative; the other Gospels have a variety of stories, but they do not repeat or confirm each other. There is, however, a historical core which all the accounts share: the first day of the week, early, women, divine figure(s), empty tomb, reassurance, a proclamation. After that each set of stories has a different angle on the events, exploring different dimensions. In Matthew, we catch a glimpse of the construction of a resurrection appearance narrative based on the empty tomb proclamation narrative. Again in Matthew, the apologetic aspect is to the fore, as may be seen from the unique story of the guards. (i) The content of the story is, by definition, unique. However, the literary form is recognisably that of “epiphany”, i.e. an encounter with the divine, the transcendent (symbolised here by earthquake, angel, descent, heaven, lighting, clothing). Classically, religious experience shows these features: (i) the encounter is unexpected; (ii) the participants experience awe and dread—in our version this is called “fear”; (iii) the message from the divine figure(s) is “do not be afraid”. (ii) In these verses there are two epiphanies, one very like the other. The first is an “empty tomb proclamation narrative” and the other is a “resurrection appearance narrative”. It might be argued that the second epiphany is a making explicit, in somewhat less metaphorical language, of the content of the first epiphany. There are two sets of interesting parallels here, which may help us to recognised what kind of writing this is. The first is a parallel in religious symbolism between the death and resurrection (see the tables on the previous page). The second parallel is between the appearance and words of the angel and the appearance and words of the Risen Lord. An appearance of the Risen Lord at the empty tomb is found only Matthew in the Synoptic gospels. It looks as if the gospel writer was unhappy to leave the implied encounter with the Risen One implicit and went on to make it quite explicit.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2026y, March 29). Palm Sunday of the Lord’s passion. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032926.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings
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