REFLECTIONS TODAY
Gospel • Lk 22:14—23:56 [or 23:1-49]
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They divided his garments by casting lots. The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Branching out
There is a theological dictum popularized by St. Bonaventure: bonum est diffusivum sui, which means “goodness is self-diffusive.” In other words, it is the nature of goodness to branch itself out. Today is Palm Sunday, also known as the Passion Sunday.
This day is also called Domingo de Ramos, which literally means “Sunday of Branches.” Ramus is the Latin word for “branch.” The verb “to ramify” also comes from this same root word. While the Spanish noun ramos is related to the word “ramification,” the word passion (Latin passio) is etymologically related to patient suffering. Hence, patient suffering and ramification are profoundly connected.
We may now reflect on the salvific suffering of Jesus Christ that has led to the diffusion of goodness in the world. During this Semana Santa or Holy Week, which begins today, we are invited to reflect more deeply on the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s celebration sets the tone of the readings we will be hearing and reflecting on until Good Friday—the day when Jesus offered his life for us while hanging on the cross. “He humbled himself,” tells the Second Reading, “becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8).
The Kenotic hymn from Philippians accentuates the fact that Christ’s patient suffering did not go to waste. Jesus’ death on the cross has led to the diffusion of goodness in the world. It is a salvific suffering after all. In other words, Christ’s self-sacrifice enables goodness to keep branching itself out.
The narrative of today’s Gospel pericope reaches its climax when Jesus breathed his last. But prior to Jesus’ last outcry while commending his spirit into the hands of the Father, Luke graphically narrates that “the veil of the temple was torn down the middle” (Lk 23:45). It is the veil that divides the holy place from the holy of holies (Ex 26:33).
Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross diffuses the holiness of God everywhere. Let us emulate Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross by changing our lifestyle. A change of lifestyle from consumeristic to simpler one is one of the noble and concrete acts of self-sacrifice we can do as Jesus’ disciples nowadays.
Our simple lifestyle will surely enable goodness to diffuse itself in the world where the natural environment is now crying out for salvation.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.