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SUNDAY OF THE PASSION

  • Writer: Olufunmilayo Adekusibe
    Olufunmilayo Adekusibe
  • Apr 14, 2023
  • 2 min read

 

Today’s Reading:

Psalm 31:9-16

 

Today's portion of Psalm 31 opens with lamentations and pleas for God's grace. Before verse 9, the psalmist prayed for God's salvation and protection, declaring that God could see suffering and provide refuge (verses 1-7). God is praised for not letting the afflicted "into the hands of the enemy," but in words that recall the promise of the covenant of the land in Genesis 26: Verse 22 put the psalmist's feet "on the broad ground" (verse 8). The opening verse of Psalm 31 acknowledges the psalmist's suffering but emphasizes the speaker's confidence in God's salvation.


The relevance of this text to the Passion Sunday is obvious. It is Jesus who is oppressed and despised. In Luke 23: 46, Jesus speaks the words of this psalm on the cross. “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (verse 5). Psalm 31's social depravity and continued trust in God resonate greatly with the passion of Christ. But how does this verse fit into the celebration of Palm Sunday? This is the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. The assembled crowds worshipped him, not to curse him, and spread palm leaves and cloaks to smooth the way to the city of God. How does this celebration reconcile complaints about data subjects being rejected and abandoned by others? The human tendency to hate the oppressed, as Simone Weil aptly describes, provides clues. We can turn against each other for a dime. In a few days the crowd cried out, "Blessed are those who come in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 10:9b) “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13).


Those who ride into Jerusalem on the carpet of their cloaks are also those who know our deepest afflictions, and through God's unfailing mercy, accept them in God Himself. We will never be abandoned out of necessity. We are surrounded by God's love. When we are embraced in this way, we are destined to embrace rather than disrespect the people who are suffering that we encounter.

AYOOLUWA OGUNSOLA


 

Prayer:

  1. Thank You Father for giving Jesus Christ as a sweet-smelling sacrifice for atonement of our sin.

  2. Jesus Christ, thank You for bearing the shame, the pain, the agony on the cross for our salvation

  3. Merciful God, Compassionate God have mercy on us and our generation, in Jesus’ name.

  4. O Lord empower Your Church to live Christ and grant us the wisdom to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, in Jesus’ name.

  5. Our nation will be great, in Jesus name.

 
 
 

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