Palm Sunday
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran
This week, the Holy Week, is a week like no other in the year, a week when we celebrate in our special celebrations on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil, what Jesus did for us. This week is a week to take time out, to stop, to reflect, to spend time with Jesus who gave his life for us, a week to pray.
Today I want to share my thoughts briefly on the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; my face I did not hide from insults and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:6-7) This passage from the prophet Isaiah is very striking and every detail of his prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in the passion of Jesus.
The face is very important because, in many ways, the face represents the inner person. “The front part of the human head including the chin, mouth, nose, cheeks, eyes, and the forehead.” Therefore, the expressions of the mouth, such as smiling, tight lips, and shaking lips form part of facial expressions. Emotions of cheerfulness, fearfulness, troubled mind, and anger are often expressed on the face. The eye is called the light of the body and the window of the soul.
The face not only gives an idea of the emotional state of a person but also the mental state. One can imagine the facial expression of Jesus in those moments of his suffering and distress. Jesus also communicated to God with his face. When he went into the Garden of Gethsemane, he fell on his face to pray. Falling to the face was a mark of humility and total surrender to God’s will.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the detractors of Jesus targeted his face. “Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him. The soldiers weaved a crown of thorns and placed it on his head (his forehead, his face)…They spat upon him took the reed and kept striking him on the head.”
There is something great to learn from Jesus. Even when his body was wounded and his face suffered bashing, He set his face like flint meant he remained positive and strong. In his wounds, he never lost the spirit of fortitude, endurance, patience, and boldness. He carried his cross with dignity without a word of insult to his persecutors. What is more, even in the face of agony he sought the face of God and the will of God.
Therefore, He teaches us the necessity of seeking the face of the Lord when we are in difficulty, even when our detractors try to put our faces to shame. “Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.” (1 Chronicles 16:11)
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