HE EMPTIED HIMSELF, ASSUMING THE CONDITION OF A SLAVE

PALM SUNDAY - Philippians 2:6-11

On this Palm Sunday, as we celebrate Jesus’ solemn entrance in Jerusalem, being proclaimed as the Messiah, we listen to the Christological hymn quoted in the letter to the Philippians. Indeed, it is commonly accepted that the hymn about the mystery of Christ presented in Philip 2:6-11 was already in use in the Christian communities before Paul inserted it in his letter.

His state was divine,

yet Christ Jesus did not cling

to his equality with God

but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave

and became as men are;

and being as all men are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names

so that all beings

in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,

should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim

Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

The hymn starts with a clear statement about Jesus Christ: “His state was divine”. In the passion reading, takes from the gospel of Mark, “The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said: In truth, this man was a son of God.” (Mk 15:39). Jesus was not a common Jewish man, even though he looked like anybody else. In the deepest of his being, he was divine, he was the Son of God. This is the Christian belief, a belief professed since the time of the Apostles. To say that Jesus is the Son of God is a bold statement, which sounds like blasphemy. Indeed, the Jewish religious authorities accused Jesus of blasphemy, indicted him of being a false prophet and condemned him to death. How can Jesus of Nazareth be the Son of God? Paul would write that we cannot recognise Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour but for the revelation of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).

The hymn in the letter to the Philippians, after that first statement, goes on speaking of the mystery of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the first movement, the Son of God emptied himself and assumed the condition of a slave. That is the mystery of the Incarnation. The Son of God takes human nature, or as John puts it: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). To reconcile us with God, the Son of God shared our human nature and experienced the human condition enslaved to sin. he “became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.” As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Is 53:5). And he remained faithful up to the end, thus restoring humanity to its true self. God accepted him and the sacrifice of his life for sake of us all. So “ God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names”. And all must proclaim that Jesus Christ is “Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

During this Holy Week, we are going to remember Jesus’ life and death, so that by carrying the cross with him, we may share in his victory over sin and death. Dying with him, we will rise with him to the “glory of God the Father”.