Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
Tomorrow we mark and celebrate the holiest week in the Christian calendars with the celebration of Palm Sunday. The Gospel of John has the disciples poised to ‘go up’ to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.
The scriptures speak of ‘going up’ to Jerusalem because geographically, Jerusalem was physically on a higher altitude than the surrounding countryside. And so, it was not only a metaphor for going to a ‘high place’ to encounter the Holy One, but was a literal ascent.
While the Gospels do not give us exact dates and times for when the Lord’s culmination of his earthly mission took place, scholars have juxtaposed that pivotal moment in Salvation History to the Passover celebration of the Jewish people.
The great moment of liberation for the Jewish people took place when the Lord freed them from bondage in Egypt and led them to settle in the promised land. For the pious Jew, that still point moment in their history is recalled ritually and liturgically in the Passover celebration. Through ritual foods, gestures and gatherings around a common table, the great story of their liberation is not only recalled but in a mysterious way, they remember the God who continues to free them in every time and place.
How appropriate that the great Christian Passover that remembers and celebrates the death and Resurrection of Jesus should be in continuity with the event that prefigured this definitive moment of liberation for the human family.
Lord, by your cross and Resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world!