April 1, 2012: Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1-15:47
or Mark 15:1-39, (40-47)
I love this passage from Philippians; for me it sums up so beautifully what the Christian life should be about – emptying ourselves in love for the sake of others. Not the sort of self-emptying that leaves one dry and bereft, but a self-emptying that leaves us fuller than we were before, a giving of oneself performed in love and full freedom of will.
For many women, this notion of self-emptying or kenosis is problematic, because we can give of ourselves to the point of self-annihilation, to the point where we ourselves are damaged. I don’t think this is the sort of self-giving that is asked of us as Christians. Our gifts of self should not result in our hurting ourselves, but should be the result of our own fullness of life and desire to give out of that fullness. This is the sort of giving that increases our joy and love of life and others.
As we prepare for Easter this Holy Week, we follow a Jesus whose journey toward the cross is a humble acceptance of all that being human entails, whose death shows us that love conquers all, and whose Spirit enables us to give of ourselves in freedom and in love.