The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday, 28th March 2021

Gospel	John 12:12-16

Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord.

A great crowd who had come to the feast

heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees

and went out to meet him, crying,

‘Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,

even the king of Israel!’

And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as is written,

‘Fear not, daughter of Sion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on an ass’s colt!’

His disciples did not understand this at first;

but when Jesus was glorified,

then they remembered that this had been written of him

and had been done to him.

First reading

Isaiah 50:4-7 ·

I did not cover my face against insult: I know I shall not be shamed

The Lord has given me

a disciple’s tongue.

So that I may know how to reply to the wearied

he provides me with speech.

Each morning he wakes me to hear,

to listen like a disciple.

The Lord has opened my ear.

For my part, I made no resistance,

neither did I turn away.

I offered my back to those who struck me,

my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;

I did not cover my face

against insult and spittle.

The Lord comes to my help,

so that I am untouched by the insults.

So, too, I set my face like flint;

I know I shall not be shamed.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 21(22):8-9,17-20,23-24

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

All who see me deride me.

  They curl their lips, they toss their heads.

‘He trusted in the Lord, let him save him;

  let him release him if this is his friend.’

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Many dogs have surrounded me,

  a band of the wicked beset me.

They tear holes in my hands and my feet

  I can count every one of my bones.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

They divide my clothing among them.

  They cast lots for my robe.

O Lord, do not leave me alone,

  my strength, make haste to help me!

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I will tell of your name to my brethren

  and praise you where they are assembled.

‘You who fear the Lord give him praise;

  all sons of Jacob, give him glory.

  Revere him, Israel’s sons.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Second reading
Philippians 2:6-11 ·

Christ humbled himself but God raised him high

His state was divine,

yet Christ Jesus did not cling

to his equality with God

but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave

and became as men are;

and being as all men are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names

so that all beings

in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,

should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim

Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

The word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	Phil2:8-9

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Christ was humbler yet,

even to accepting death, death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name which is above all names.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

Key: N. Narrator.  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,

   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 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,

   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.