April 2 Podcast: Life is like...

The 6th Sunday of Lent, Year A

Passion/Palm Sunday

Scriptures: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Matthew 27:11-54; Philippians 2:5-11.

Key Verse: “They saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Mattew 27:54

<music>

<Intro:>

Hello, This is Jade.

Welcome to Yi.kigai

A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life

<music>

<Message:>

Life is like a drama! Have you heard or used a similar saying? I learned about it from the famous monologue ‘All the world is a stage’ also known as ‘The seven ages of man’ in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It? Shakespeare saw life as a drama acted out on a stage in a theater, a journey of the complete lifecycle of a human being from cradle to grave, from a healthy baby to an old person, from living a fulfilled life to nothing left, mere oblivion at the end.

A person of faith may say life is like a gospel! Everything we do in life is not a pretentious act or a performance for applause on a stage. We all have our own trials in which we may or may not notice the presence of God. Sometimes, we even pick up the kind of self-righteous behaviors that diminish or indignify others. And most of the time, we prayerfully live a gospel of life that God has created and redeemed us to be, delighted by God and restored by Christ’ peace and love through his resurrection. As a matter of fact, all we do won’t be mere oblivion at the end of our earthly life but will be carried forward to our afterlife.

We are about to enter into the Holy Week, a big festival celebrated among the majority of Christians in the world. We enliven the final days of Jesus' earthly life in Jerusalem by waving the palm leaves, setting the twelve stations of the cross, and reclaiming the gospel of life, a gift from God. And this gospel of life can only become tangible and relevant to all if it doesn’t stay hidden or unspoken inside the walls of the church and inside the hearts of the people of God.

What are some possible ways to reclaim or re-experience the gospel of life that God has gifted us? As I read the story from Matthew 27 for Palm Sunday, I noticed that there were only a handful of people who did it in their own subtle ways. While Jesus was facing accusations, treated as a criminal and used as a scapegoat for the fear, jealousy, or self-righteousness of others, the wife of Pilate saw Jesus through the lens of a gospel of life. She knew and said that Jesus was an innocent man. While Jesus was carrying the heavy cross and taking the lonely path in agony, Simon from Cyrene was called out to carry the cross with Jesus. Unexpectedly, he experienced what it took to have the gospel of life in public. While Jesus was ridiculed on the cross by the chief priests, the scribes and elders, the soldiers, the crowds, and the bystanders, the centurion and those who were keeping watch over Jesus must have heard that Jesus was God’s Son. After the earthquake, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Have you noticed that none of them belonged to the circle of Jesus’ disciples? There weren’t any remarks from them. Was the good news, the gospel of life, hidden and unspoken? It’s my prayer that you see, you hear, you experience and get to live out the gospel of life that grants you hope in the midst of your trials. The hope we receive from God is not a feeling or a concept but a person, fully divine and fully human. And this person, Jesus, our hope, is tangible and relevant to everything we do and we say for the sake of our own and all who walk on the same path, a path of peace and love. The good news is that we are invited to be part of that HOPE each day in our lives.

<Music>

<Closing Prayer:>

May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace

As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life

<Outro:>

Thank you for listening. Please subscribe and follow yi.kigai.

<music>