Discussion Questions

Procession

Matthew 21:1-11

1. “And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and they asked, ‘Who is this?’ Who is Jesus of Nazareth to you us now in 2023?

2. How would Jesus’ arrival with all the crowds crying, “Hosanna,” have affected the Pharisees and chief priests? Would it have worried them that they were going to lose power and control to this man who rode on a donkey? Do you think Jesus knew what the outcome of this ride would be?

First Reading

Isaiah 50:4-7

1. “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint.” We see Jesus as the subject of this reading. Who, other than Jesus might be the speaker in this reading? Explain. When you do proclaim Jesus can you be assured that he will go before you and guide you?

2. “Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear.” What does the speaker of this reading hear? Is it about suffering? Are you reluctant to stand up for justice if it involves discomfort for you? Is there any small thing you could do to remedy someone’s suffering? Explain.

Second Reading

Philippians 2:6-11

1. “Agape” love (pronounced ah’-gah-pay) is selfless and free from self-concern and self-preoccupation. It includes conversion, vulnerability, suffering and seeking for justice. Explain Jesus’ love for us in terms of agape. How does it help redeem the world?

2. Discuss this thought from Javier Melloni, SJ: “The will of God is the divinization of every creature; and it was to bring about this divinization that the One who was in God and who was God, emptied himself in order to participate in our human condition and transform it from within.”

Gospel

Matthew 26:14 – 27:66 or 27:11-54

1. Jesus endured the sense of abandonment by the one he loved most, his Abba. He chose to experience all of humanity’s worst suffering. What does this tell us? Even though he couldn’t access their love, do you think the Father and the Spirit were there with Jesus on the cross?

2. According to Pope Francis, where is Christ crucified today?

When we resort to violence, we show that we no longer know anything about God, who is our Father, or even about others, who are our brothers and sisters. We lose sight of why we are in the world and even end up committing senseless acts of cruelty. We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time. Christ is once more nailed to the Cross in mothers who mourn the unjust death of sons and husbands. He is crucified in refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms. He is crucified in the elderly left alone to die; in young people deprived of a future; in soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters. Christ is being crucified there, today.

Pope Francis Palm Sunday Homily 2022

Anne Osdieck

**From Saint Louis University