Gospel in Art: Palm Sunday

A polychrome limewood painted Palmesel, sculpted in Germany, 15th Century © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 24 March 2024
Mark 15:1-39

Key: N. Narrator. J. Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

N. First thing in the morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes - in short, the whole Sanhedrin - had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him:

O. Are you the king of the Jews?

N. He answered,

J. It is you who say it.

N. And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again:

O. Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!

N. But, to Pilate's amazement, Jesus made no further reply.

At festival time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, anyone they asked for. Now a man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rioters who had committed murder during the uprising. When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favour, Pilate answered them

O. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?

N. For he realised it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. The chief priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release Barabbas for them instead. Then Pilate spoke again:

O. But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?

N. They shouted back,

C. Crucify him!

N. Pilate asked them,

O. Why? What harm has he done?

N. But they shouted all the louder,

C. Crucify him!

N. So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, having ordered Jesus to be scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together. They dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him. And they began saluting him,

C. Hail, king of the Jews!

N. They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes.

They led him out to crucify him: they enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.

They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it. Then they crucified him, and shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge against him read: 'The King of the Jews.' And they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.

The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,

C. Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down from the cross!

N. The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. They said,

C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.

N. Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

J. Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

N. which means, 'My God, my God, why have you deserted me?' When some of those who stood by heard this, they said

C. Listen, he is calling on Elijah.

N. Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink, saying:

O. Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down.

N. But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

All kneel and pause for a moment.

And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said,

O. In truth this man was a son of God.

Reflection on the Palmesel Sculpture

They say that a week is a long time in politics. Politicians who are in positions of responsibility at the beginning of a week can find themselves out of a job by the end of the same week. A week can be a long time in any of our lives. The situation that we find ourselves in at the beginning of a week can be very different from how things might stand with us at the end of the same week. It is hard to imagine a greater contrast than that between the beginning and the end of Jesus' final week.

Today on Palm Sunday, the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with great enthusiasm, declaring God's blessings on the One who came in the name of the Lord. By the end of the week, the same crowds were crying out, 'Crucify him'. Jesus who entered Jerusalem on a donkey to a great welcome was carried out of the city as a dead man a few days later, having suffered the cruelest form of death that the Roman Empire could devise.

We who take up our palm branches this morning and who identify with the welcoming crowd know all too well how the week will end. But we also know that the death of Jesus on a Roman cross was not really the end of the story. Death is not the final word. We have just heard the account of Jesus' passion and death according to Mark. As we begin this holy week, we are given a preview of where this week is heading. Although we use the term 'passion' with reference to the suffering of Jesus, in normal usage the term refers to a strong feeling or a strong commitment. We all have a passion in that sense. The term can be readily applied to Jesus in this same sense. He suffered his passion, because he had a great passion, a passion for God and for humanity. As we begin this Holy Week, we might resolve to slow down a little so as to allow the momentous events that we are celebrating in the church to touch our hearts and minds. The core of this Holy Week is what we call the Easter Triduum, which begins with the celebration of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday evening and concludes with the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. This short time from the evening of Holy Thursday to Holy Saturday night is the most sacred time in the church's year.

Today's work of art is a 15th-century German 'Palmesel'. The German word Palmesel (palm donkey) refers to the statue of Jesus on a donkey. Our sculpture is mounted on a wheeled platform and is of a type used in Palm Sunday processions in many German-speaking regions until the Reformation. These processions took place on the main streets of cities and villages, reenacting Christ's entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They were lively pageants in which hymns were sung, palms waved and clothes spread on the ground before the Palmesel. The figure of Christ would originally have held leather reins in his left hand, and the donkey would have had a bridle, enhancing the naturalistic effect.

The popularity of Palmesel sculptures is evident from the number that still survive, and it is easy to see how this type of image played a big role in medieval popular piety, which encouraged participation in religious events. I think this was indeed a lovely tradition. Within a few decades after our sculpture was carved, these 'empathetic' images became the subject of anti-Catholic criticism by German Reformers. So the tradition stopped after the Reformation.

The donkey is also symbolic of something else. It was not swayed that day in Jerusalem by the joyful acclamations, nor later by the screaming words of hate. The donkey did a particular job, which was to bear a particular burden. It did this, humbly, not expecting praise or reward. There it was, front and centre, carrying Christ,... unnoticed,... invisible..., executing the noblest of tasks in greatest humility.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-15-1-39-2024/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49310