March 21, 2021
5th Sunday of Lent B
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On Sunday evening JoAnn Falletta, Director, the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra and the UCLA Chamber Singers received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition of Richard Danielpour’s, “The Passion of Yeshua.†It is a work that has evolved over the last twenty-five years -- an intensely personal telling of the final hours of Jesus on earth. “It incorporates texts from the Hebrew Scriptures and from the Gospels inspiring extraordinary beautiful music that stresses the need for human compassion and forgiveness. Danielpour returns to the scale and majesty of Bach in the oratorio, creating choruses that are intense and powerful, and giving both Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene a central place in a work of glowing spirituality.†(Naxos Records) Monday morning I listened to the Epilogue on Classical Radio. The chorus is singing in Hebrew: “Hen avdi et moch-bo,†Isaiah 42:1, “Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.†While not understanding the Hebrew I felt the compassion and sadness. |
Our second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews. The authors speaks of the suffering of Jesus. “He offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.â€
The evangelists Mark, Matthew and Luke record the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Gospel according to John, there is only this verse: “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.†We are drawn to Jesus when he is lifted up on the cross.
We come to see and to know Jesus in our suffering. If we are to love as Jesus loved, we must first come to terms with suffering. Like, Jesus we simply cannot be cool and detached from our fellow human beings. Blessings of Baskets and Catholic Charities Appeal are two ways that we can express our empathy and compassion. Accepting our own suffering and drawing closer to others who suffer, we come to see the face of Jesus.
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4th Sunday of Lent B
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Palm Sunday
