FULL OF PASSION (Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B)

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The word “PASSION” describes strong emotions of fear, love, hatred and anger. Remember the stories of passionate lovers such as Romeo and Juliet; Jack and Rose of Titanic; etc. That word can as well mean “an unlimited zeal and enthusiasm for something”; and this enthusiasm can be negative or positive. We remember the stories of passionate leaders like Nelson Mandela (who was passionate for the liberation of the South African blacks during the Apartheid); passionate freedom-fighters like Martin Luther King Jr of America (who was passionate for the freedom of the Black Race in America); and so many others.


As we reflect on “passion”, let’s take note of the following! Passion propels one to action. Whatever you are not passionate about, you cannot achieve. And to be passionate to achieve something involves full concentration on what you intend to achieve. The Latin word “passus” is derived from the Latin infinitive “pati” which means “to suffer”. If you’ve not come to the point of suffering, enduring some pains or receiving some insults or humiliation for the sake of what you intend to achieve, then you may not have known what it means to be PASSIONATE.


To be passionate involves “suffering” for the sake of what one is passionate about. When you concentrate or focus on what you intend to achieve (the object of your passion), certain things must be given up for the sake of the object of your passion.


If a student is passionate about his education, he must give it very serious attention. To hit his target, excessive indulgence in certain activities which he enjoys (such as watching television, chatting away his time, and so on) should not be entertained. He can't give equal attention to everything and expects to get the best of everything. Certain things must be sacrificed for the sake of what one is most passionate about. In the main, the end result of passion is a sort of resurrection of something good: something new and beautiful comes to life. A passionate student ends up with good grades. A passionate business man smiles to the bank with huge profits; and so on.


Today, we celebrate someone who was passionate about our salvation; someone who stripped Himself of His heavenly glory and chose to go through the hassles of the human nature just because of His passion to set us free. As Isaiah further describes Him in Isaiah 50:4-7: “He gave His back to those who struck him; and His cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; and He did not hide His face from shame and spitting” all because He was passionate about our salvation. St Paul further says in Philippians 2:6-11 that “though He was God, He did not count equality with God…; He EMPTIED Himself, took the form of a SERVANT; and was born in the likeness of men; and having been born like us, He HUMBLED Himself and became OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH, death on a CROSS” all because of His passionate love for us.


Now, the punchline is: CHRIST’S PASSION FOR OUR SALVATION SHOULD PRODUCE IN US SOME PASSION FOR GOOD CAUSE. From the Narrative of Jesus' Passion, we should learn to be PASSIONATE about the cause of love, justice, freedom and goodness. The story of His suffering and death is basically a story of love: God’s love for the world (cf. Jn. 3:16). What should be our response to this great act of love? We are expected to respond with GRATITUDE: gratitude strong enough to make us hate sin in all its shades and colors; gratitude strong enough to make us translate our love for God into love for others and love for good cause.


Are you really passionate about your relationship with God? Are you passionate about your relationship with others, passionate about your business, your studies and so on? Jesus has left us an example. As we ask for God’s assistance, as we strive to work things out, let us not forget that we must endure some pains, sacrifice and forego certain things if we really want to see our dreams become a reality.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help me to be passionate for the well-being of others just as you were passionate for my salvation, Amen!


Happy Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord!


HAVE AN IMPACTFUL HOLY WEEK!



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