Actually, Passion Sunday is the same day as Palm Sunday. It is my understanding that designating this Sunday as Passion Sunday allows those churches that do not have Good Friday (or Maundy Thursday) services to transition from the celebration of the Triumphal Entry of Palm Sunday to the pain and sorrow of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion.
The texts for Year A are those of the Passion:
- Isaiah 50:4-9a with its prophecy of Christ's humiliation at the hands of the Roman soldiers.
- Psalm 31:9-16 which calls to my mind Job 13:15, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." This cry of grief with the strength of trust calls to mind the trial before the Sanhedrin. (One can also look a few verses earlier and find one of Christ's quotes from the cross: "Into thine hand I commit my spirit" - Psalm 31:5.
- Philippians 2:5-11 the great passage on the mind of Christ, in which, He humbled Himself, taking on the form of man and submitting to death on the cross, thereby receiving glory and honor from His Father.
- Matthew 26:14-27:66 (or the shorter passage of Matthew 27:11-54) which tells the story from Judas' betrayal through the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the trial before the Sanhedrin and Pilate, the Crucifixion, and the Burial.
May God bless us as we recall not only Christ's triumph, but also His sacrifice for us that He might save us from our sins.
Blessings,
Richard
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