In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Hear, O people of God, hear the cries of the crowd. For the Lord comes in triumph to bring about our redemption. We have been caught, we have been imprisoned in the fear of death, but Christ is coming Who will release us from our unjust captivity. The Devil shall be cast out and the Satan shall accuse no longer.
And yet this brings about a crisis within us. We have heard the report, we have ourselves witnessed, we know our release is immanent, but this requires a change in us. If the Resurrection is true then I must live differently. But I like my former life, I am happy to live in the certainty of death rather than the uncertainty of Christian Life; I like my faithfulness to be a “Sunday-only event,” my religion to be a private affair as I make my own way towards destruction: I see Lazarus standing there alive and I want him, along with Christ, removed, at least until I find a more convenient moment in my life.
“Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always,” the Apostle says to you and he says to me,
again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand.
And if I am to be a Christian I must make these words my own. I want to worry about the cares of this life, “what I will eat or what I will drink; [or] what I will put on,” (cf. Matthew 6:25) yet today as we see His triumphant entry I am called to rejoice. And when He is betrayed and handed over to the evil powers of this age I am called to rejoice. And when I have to experience even a small level of suffering for the sake of Christ I am called to rejoice.
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord promises us,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age. Amen.
— Matthew 28:18–20
He will be with us in all the days, in the good and in the bad, in the times of joy and in the times of sorrow, in the times of living and the times of dying—and in all these times we must rejoice. Let us be more than fair-weather Christians but live our faithfulness day by day that we too may join in His suffering, we too may join in His death that we too are joined to His Resurrection and eternal Life.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
Amen.
Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
— Philippians 4:4–9
Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day 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 donkey and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’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. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
— John 12:1–18