Sunday Gospel Reflection by Bishop Parkes: The crowds cried “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” That is what we hear in this Palm Sunday Gospel from St. Mark as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Only days later will the fickle crowd turn on Him and be swayed by public opinion and religious and political pressure. For the last couple of years of His ministry, the people across the landscape who knew of Jesus’ works had formed one of three opinions:
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Read the Gospel reflection by Bishop Parkes below or click here to listen to it.
Entering into Holy Week
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” - Mark 11:9
The crowds cried “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” That is what we hear in this Palm Sunday Gospel from St. Mark as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Only days later will the fickle crowd turn on Him and be swayed by public opinion and religious and political pressure. For the last couple of years of His ministry, the people across the landscape who knew of Jesus’ works had formed one of three opinions: They loved Him and believed in Him; they had heard of Him and knew that He drew crowds but were not ready to ‘buy in’; or third, they questioned and in fact despised Him as a blasphemer and sought some way to trap Him.
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” These words sound familiar, don’t they? We proclaim these words each time we celebrate the Eucharist when we recite or sing the Sanctus or Holy, Holy, Holy. Because of our faith, we recognize our Lord by proclaiming Him as king at every Mass. Yet, like the fickle crowd, when we leave church and return to society, we can fall back into our old, potentially sinful habits – and by doing so, fail to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior.
This week enter into Holy Week. Make it a point to stay focused on what the meaning of this important time is. The entire week’s readings are a dramatic account of what our Lord endured over 2000 years ago. Take time to walk with our Lord, and draw closer to Him through participation in the various liturgies of this week. And if you haven’t been to church in a while, I invite you to come home this week to experience God’s great love for you.
Inicio de la Semana Santa
“¡Hosanna! ¡Bendito el que viene en nombre del Señor!”. - Marcos 11, 9
Las multitudes gritaban "¡Hosanna, bendito el que viene en el nombre del Señor!". Eso es lo que escuchamos en este Evangelio de san Marcos del Domingo de Ramos cuando Jesús entra en Jerusalén. Sólo unos días después la multitud caprichosa se volverá contra él y se dejará llevar por la opinión pública, y la presión religiosa y política. En los dos últimos años del ministerio de Jesús la gente había optado por una de estas tres actitudes: Le amaban y creían en él; habían oído hablar de él y sabían que atraía a las multitudes, pero no estaban del todo convencidos; o, en tercer lugar, lo cuestionaban y de hecho lo despreciaban como blasfemo, y buscaban alguna manera de atraparlo.
"¡Bendito el que viene en nombre del Señor! ¡Hosanna en el cielo!” Estas palabras nos son familiares, ¿verdad? Proclamamos estas palabras cada vez que celebramos la Eucaristía cuando recitamos o cantamos el Sanctus o Santo, Santo, Santo. Nuestra fe hace que reconozcamos a nuestro Señor y lo proclamemos rey en cada Misa. Sin embargo, igual que la multitud caprichosa, al salir de la iglesia y volver a la sociedad podemos caer en nuestros viejos hábitos igual que la multitud caprichosa, cuando dejamos la iglesia y volvemos a la sociedad, podemos volver a caer en nuestros viejos hábitos, posiblemente pecaminosos, y dejar de reconocer a Jesús como Señor y Salvador.
En este inicio de la Semana Santa procura concentrarte en el significado de este tiempo tan importante. Las lecturas de toda la semana son un relato dramático de lo que nuestro Señor soportó hace más de 2,000 años. Dedica el tiempo para caminar con nuestro Señor y acércate a él mediante tu participación en las diversas liturgias de esta semana. Y si hace tiempo que no vas a la iglesia, te invito a que vengas esta semana a vivenciar el gran amor de Dios por ti.
Reflection by:
Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes is the fifth Bishop of St. Petersburg. Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando on June 26, 1999. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa’s banking industry.
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