General. In thanksgiving to the Lord for giving another Sunday of praise to His Name, we understand that we will only be fulfilling our call as Christians if we conform our will with God’s Will for us. To Him are the power and the glory, but we may only say this if we serve Him with a chaste heart. It is only the pure of heart, those who are contrite of their sins, who can see God and enter His Kingdom after praising Him and doing His Will on earth.

Isaiah. In this Fourth Hymn to the Servant of the Lord, the prophet portrays the Christ in no uncertain terms of suffering. He will be then offering himself in expiation and through him the Will of the Father will be accomplished. After all that torment, the Servant will see the light and he will be made full (finding his pleroma) through his experience. Indeed, suffering purifies, even giving us a pure heart, and through the Just Servant many will be justified for he will take upon himself their iniquity. To this end, the Just Servant is a true icon of the baptised Christian.

Letter to the Hebrews. Jesus stands on the right hand of the Father interceding for us. So let us not cease confessing him as our High Priest and Defender. He knows all our infirmities and was tempted just in the same manner as we are, but still he did not fall in sin due to his divine nature. The key-word is confidence, having trust in Jesus, because he is merciful and understanding of human nature, and grace to be able to live our Christian life.

St Mark. To the question put to him by James and John, Jesus replies, in not so many words, that they are thinking of him as a man of glory littile knowing that his true glory is to be found in the cup of suffering which he is to drink, and the baptism he is to receive, not in water but this time in blood. The two said they can and the other disciples became jealous, causing Jesus to explain further. For the Christian it is not a matter of lording over others inasmuch as a duty of serving. The greater a person in the Christian hierarchy, the more service he is expected to give. Speaking about himself, Jesus says he has come to serve and to give up his life for the redemption of humanity. Point in fact is Jesus’ behaviour on Maundy Thursday when he lay aside his cloak (a sign of power) and put on an apron to minister to those around him.

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