Have you ever been lonely? Have loved ones abandoned you in your greatest need? Sit next to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, with drops of His precious blood falling on the ground as His disciples sleep outside (Luke 22:39-46; Mark 14:32-42).
Have trusted ones betrayed you? Your dearest friends denied you in their selfishness? Stand next to Jesus, betrayed with Judas’ kiss and looking on as Peter curses Him (Luke 22: 46; Luke 54-61; Mark 14:10-11; Mark 14:66-72).
Have you been unfairly accused? Or felt like the whole world was against you? Lean on Jesus as He was unfairly accused (Mark 14:55-61) and the crowd yells, “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13-15; John 19:15).
Have you been made fun of? Have people been cruel or humiliated you? Hold Jesus’s hand as He is ridiculed, blindfolded, crowned with thorns in mockery, and spat on (Mark 15:16-20; Luke 22:63-65).
Have you been abused, physically or emotionally? You are not alone. Sit at the feet of the scourged and beaten Jesus at the pillar (Luke 23:16).
Have you felt a heavy burden? Been confronted by an impossible task? Lift Jesus’s cross as He carries it to Golgotha (Luke 23:26).
Have you felt shame? Have you been forced to do something shameful against your own wishes? Behold Jesus, stripped of His clothes (Mark 15:24), made to be “sin who did not know sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Have you ever hurt all over, to the point of anguish? Lay your head on Jesus’s chest as soldiers hammer the nails into His holy hands and feet (Luke 23:33).
Have you been insulted? Mocked? Listen as the criminals jeer, soldiers sneer, and rulers scoff (Luke 23:35).
Has someone gossiped about you? Posted or spread rumors about you? Read the mocking sign posted above His bleeding head: “King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38).
Have you been in need? Hungered or thirsted for good things? Watch Jesus’s dry lips as He says, “I thirst” (John 19:28).
Have you felt abandoned, completely alone in your suffering? Listen to Jesus as He cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).
Have you seen death? Have you witnessed a dying breath? Do you fear your own death and the death of those you love? Gaze up at Jesus as He breathed His last: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
You are not alone in your suffering. Our Lord, the Crucified Jesus, suffers with you.
Readings for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion – March 24, 2024
MARK 11:1-10
ISAIAH 50: 4-7
PSALM 22: 8-24
PHILIPPIANS 2: 6-11
MARK 14:1—15:47