Compassion Personified

Homily for Palm Sunday

The Passion Narrative from the Gospel of St. Luke differs markedly from those of the Gospels of Saints Matthew and Mark. The differences that St. Luke includes, the episodes which he details, emphasize the themes of the Gospel as a whole. As a Gentile himself, St. Luke has painted a picture of Jesus as the very compassion of God personified, particularly to the marginalized. At the very beginning of the narrative, St. Luke includes a statement similar to others that he has made several times before; namely, “the greatest among you must be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.” Jesus came to serve.

A crowd approaches Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we hear that one of the apostles draws a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. While the other evangelists include this particular detail, it is Luke who tells us that Jesus compassionately heals the wound.

On the way to Golgotha, Jesus meets a group of women who mourned and lamented him. It was in Luke’s Gospel that we were told that among the disciples of Jesus were several women who supported him in his ministry. Now in the midst of his agony, he stops to comfort them.

Throughout the Gospel we were told that if we wished to be disciples of Jesus, we had to take up our cross and walk in his footsteps. It has been an important theme throughout the Gospel. Here this theme comes to the fore with the story of Simon of Cyrene who takes up the cross and follows Jesus and with the large crowd who likewise follow on the way of the cross.

At the very beginning of his Gospel, St. Luke’s introduced Jesus through the prophecy of Isaiah which told us, among other things, that Jesus would release those held captive. This prophecy is fulfilled when Jesus is at his least powerful, nailed to a cross. In what might be the most compassionate moment in the entire story, Jesus releases the thief who is crucified with him and assures him of his eternal happiness.

Finally, the picture of the compassionate and merciful God is completed as Jesus asks the Father to forgive those who are putting him to death. While the other Gospels depict Jesus as one who has been abandoned, the Gospel of St. Luke continues the theme of mercy and forgiveness.

As we enter into Holy Week, the Gospel of St. Luke reminds us that as the disciples of Jesus we must not only walk with him in his footsteps but we must also continue his ministry of mercy and forgiveness.