Jijo Kandamkulathy, CMF
Claretian Publications, Macau
PALM SUNDAY – YEAR A
Mt 26:14-27:66
The dearest lesson of the Lenten season is: God did not miraculously save Christ from a difficult situation. He did not obstruct the injustice meted out and the death of His Son. But in Him, God has made it known that He does not overcome evil by miraculous interventions but by taking away its power to harm, even making it a time of growth for man. It is difficult to assimilate this logic of God. It is difficult to accept that “unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn 12:24).
Matthew particularly insists on the repudiation of violence and the use of weapons. Only he reports the words of Jesus to Peter, who tried to defend him with a sword: “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword” (Mt 26:52). Tertullian, the famous apologist of the 1st-2nd century, commented: “Disarming Peter, Jesus took away the weapons from the hands of every soldier.” A few decades later, the biblical scholar Origen echoed, “We Christians no longer grip the sword; we don’t anymore learn the art of war because through Jesus we have become children of peace.”
One of the issues close to Matthew’s heart is the universalism of salvation. Israel cannot consider herself as the only and jealous depositary of God’s promises. She played the role that the Lord entrusted to her in preparing the coming of God’s kingdom. She was expected, first among the guests, in the banquet hall (Mt 22:1-6). Unfortunately, Israel rejected the invitation. In the early Christian community, it was experienced as a painful laceration, like a sword that pierces the soul (Lk 2:35), as “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7). The maximum expression of this refusal is the cry: “His blood be on us and on our children” (Mt 27:25).
The nonsensical interpretation of this phrase has had tragic consequences: hatred, absurd accusations, violence, and Christians supporting the persecution of the Jews. The meaning attributed to it by Matthew was totally different. The Jews had chosen violence and rejected the reign of peace announced by Jesus. The evangelist wants to warn us of the danger of repeating the same mistake.
Another incident reported only by Matthew is the death of Judas. This disciple is the symbol of all those who, for a time, follow Jesus. Then they become aware that Jesus is not realizing their dreams of glory and thirst for power. They abandon Him and even turn against Him.
If we free ourselves from the stereotypes for a moment, we can experience respect and compassion for the plight of this man, Judas. It seems that among the apostles, he had no friends. When he saw the only one who loved him go to His death, he must have felt terribly alone carrying the weight of his mistake. He went, unfortunately, to vent his remorse, his inner torment to the wrong people, the temple priests who used him. If he had turned to Christ, his life would end in another way.
Finally, only Matthew speaks of the guards placed in custody of the tomb (Mt 27:62-66). They are the deceptive sign of the triumph of evil. Their presence seemingly testifies that the righteous is defeated, the deliverer silenced, locked forever in a tomb. It is the experience that we have that evil always gives the impression of being assured of the final triumph, in a manner that makes light of the hope that the poor, the weak, and the defenseless have for justice. God, however, ensures His unexpected intervention. His angel will roll every stone that prevents the return to life and will sit on it (Mt 28:2). The soldiers placed to defend injustice and iniquity will flee in terror from His light (Mt 28:4).
(Indebted to Fr. Fernando Armellini SCJ. Image: ParvizPhotography@pixabay.com)
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