Joy on Passion Sunday?!

The fifth Sunday of Lent in the calendar of the Church of England is known as Passion Sunday.

For most people these days, the word ‘passion’ is associated with showing ‘strong emotions’ – particularly of the romantic variety, as in phrases such as ‘they clasped each other in a passionate embrace’ or, more graphically, ‘they shared together a night of unbridled passion’.

Anyway, I’d better move on quickly before we slip into the realms of a Jackie Collins novel, and make the point that the original meaning of the Latin word ‘passio’ (from which the word passion is derived) is ‘suffering’.

This is the meaning of the word in ‘Passion Sunday’ because it marks the beginning of the two weeks leading up to Easter during which we contemplate the suffering of Jesus that culminated in his crucifixion and death on Good Friday.

So, is it appropriate that we are here to ‘make a joyful noise’ on Passion Sunday?

Well, the Christian Faith, like life itself, is always a mixture of joy and sadness. But, unlike some people’s pessimistic outlook on life, an important aspect of the Christian Faith is that it is always infused with hope – even in the darkest of times – and out of hope springs joy.

Now, when I use the word ‘hope’ in this context, I don’t mean it as some vague, wishy-washy aspiration, such as saying ‘I hope the sun shines tomorrow’, or ‘I hope Liverpool wins the Premier League’ (or ‘hope they don’t’ – depending on your football team allegiance, if you have one).

‘Hope’ in this context is actually being used as a noun, not as a verb, and refers to God’s love, forgiveness and grace as being the foundation of Christian hope.

For Christians, Easter is the most important Festival of the year.

Many people might be surprised by this. They would say that ‘surely Christmas is more important than Easter’. After all, Christmas is the holiday that people spend weeks getting ready for; when lots of presents are exchanged; when decorations are put up; when family members come together to have fun and eat a lot; when people even might go to church for a nativity play or carol service. Easter, by contrast, is just one day in the year celebrated with chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and Easter bunnies.

Now it’s certainly true that Easter couldn’t have happened without Christmas. In other words, if Jesus hadn’t been born, he couldn’t have died and come back to life.

But the crucial point is that it’s the events of Easter – from Good Friday to Easter Sunday – that define the essence of the Christian faith. Indeed, Christians are sometimes called an ‘Easter People’.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, which essentially means that Jesus is God in human form. Thus, it’s often said that if you want to know what God is like, look at what Jesus is like. Indeed, Jesus himself said this – in John’s Gospel Jesus is quoted as saying, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”.

Thus, when Jesus was crucified and killed on Good Friday, it was essentially like trying to kill God Himself. What could be worse than that?

Of course, Jesus had done nothing wrong – all the wrong-doing lay with those who wanted him killed.

And yet, as Jesus was nailed to the cross and raised into the air, he said “Father forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.”

Therefore, it was the manner of Jesus’ death and his forgiving response to it that, more than anything else, demonstrates to us the limitless nature of God’s love, forgiveness and grace. God loves us so much that He’s prepared to forgive any and all wrong-doing, despite our unworthiness.

So, even the terrible circumstances and nature of Jesus’ death – that are a source of sorrow – are ultimately also grounds for hope and, indeed, joy.

And this isn’t all! Christians believe that, within 40 hours of his death, Jesus was alive again – thereby demonstrating that God overcomes all evil; that death isn’t the end; that the body may die, but the spirit lives on.

In recent weeks we’ve witnessed a great deal of evil, suffering and death during the war raging in Ukraine. The horrendous plight of millions of people is almost too much to comprehend or, indeed, to bear.

However, as we lament the terrible situation for the victims of this war, we shall not lose hope – because our hope is in God, and this ultimately leads to joy. Just a Passion Sunday is on the path to Easter Day.