HOMILY FOR THE PASSION SUNDAY YEAR B (5)

HOMILY FOR THE PASSION SUNDAY YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: HE SET HIS FACE LIKE FLINT

BY: Fr. Gerald M. Musa

 

HOMILY:

This Sunday is Passion Sunday and it is important to reflect on both the triumphal entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and on his suffering. 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 prophet showed how enemies direct their attacks on the face, in an attempt to dishonour a person. They tore his beards and struck him on his cheeks.

The face is very important because in many ways, the face represents the inner person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes the face as “The front part of the human head including the chin, mouth, nose, cheeks, eyes, and usually the forehead.” Therefore, the expressions of the mouth, such as smiling, tight lips, 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 window of the soul. (Not forgetting that the expression on face can also be disguised).

A Hausa expression says, Idan ana so a ji labarin zuciya, a tambayi fuska (If you wish to know what is going on in the heart, ask the face). The face may not only give 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 intense suffering and acute distress. Jesus also communicated to God with his face. When he went into the Garden of Gethsemane, he fell on his face to pray (Matthew 26:39). Falling to the face was a mark of humility and total surrender to God’s will. To bow with the face is a mark of honour as Abigail bowed on her face as a gesture of respect (1 Samuel 25:41; 28:14).

The expression of shame is demonstrated on the face (Psalm 69:8) and honour to a person is given to the face. The Scripture declares, honour should be given to the face of an old man (Leviticus 19:32). 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 (Matthew 26:67); The soldiers weaved a crown of thorns and “placed it on his head (his forehead, his face)…They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head” (27:29-30). In the Old Testament, Job lamented about his predicament. He cried out about how his critics sang of him in mockery and how they abhorred him and stood aloof and how they did not hesitate to spit in his face (Job 30:10).

There is something great to learn from Jesus. Even when his body was wounded and his face suffered bashing, He refused to be disgraced and He refused to succumb to the temptation of vengeance. He set his face like flint meant he remained positive and strong. Flint is a chemical sedimentary rock, which is hard and strong. For Isaiah, this hard rock represents the firm resolve of Jesus to be meek even in the face of contempt. 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 into shame. The scripture admonishes us to, “Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually” (1 Chronicles 16:11).
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Palm/Passion Sunday Year B/ Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47).

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