The repeated mockery Jesus endures particularly stands out to me in these Palm Sunday readings. We hear some form of the word “mock” throughout. The psalmist tells of scoffing and mockery. The Gospel of Matthew says people “reviled” Jesus, “spat in his face,” and “abus[ed] him.”

Jesus suffered this for proclaiming the Gospel, the truth about Himself. He felt “sorrow and distress.” He felt pain. He asked, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” As followers of Christ, we must remember that we follow Him also in suffering. We may feel sorrow, distress, and pain. This is okay! As we do what Christ tells us – to proclaim the Gospel to all (Mt 28:19; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:47) – we are guaranteed to receive abuse. We should expect that people will mock us as they mocked Him.

So this suffering should not discourage us: it is the way of Christ. Like the Apostles, we can rejoice in it: after being flogged by the Sanhedrin for preaching about Jesus, “they left […] rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” (Acts 5:40). The Responsorial Psalm reveals one who understands this paradox of joy and suffering: in the same breath that the psalmist pleads, asking why God has abandoned him, he continues to proclaim the Lord’s name and give Him praise and glory.

Matthew Spizale is a full-time lay Catholic missionary with Family Missions Company. He currently lives and serves at the FMC stateside mission base near Abbeville, LA.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. We too, must rejoice in our suffering’s for Christ is closest to the one’s who suffer the most for His name and refrain from complain in asking, ‘why me Lord,’ why me…?

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