Meditations on the way to Palm Sunday
On this Monday before Palm Sunday, I read and reflect afresh on the Passion Narrative;[1] the biblical account of the suffering and death of Jesus.
Of all the details, this word, this cry of Jesus – “Ēli, Ēli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[2] – arrests my attention.
This quintessential expression of anguish has consonant connectivity to human existence. For who among us – you, me, anyone – at some point or points along life’s journey, has not known the experience of abandonment; whether in the doing or the receiving, or both?
To be continued…
© 2023 PRA
Illustration: Crucifixion (detail) (c. 1618-1620), Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
[1] Matthew 26.36-27.66
[2] Matthew 27.46b
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 