Today's readings carry the sorrow of the world. The false accusations, denials, betrayals, and beatings Jesus faced are heartbreaking.

In the proclamation of the Lord's passion the people will hear today, it's natural for everyone involved, both preacher and hearers, to overlook the readings from Isaiah and Philippians.

SOME OF THE brightest words in the Bible are about loyalty. “Wherever you go, I will go,” says Ruth to Naomi as she leaves her homeland for good. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord,” Joshua pledges before crossing the Jordan into the promised land.

Jesus' cry of abandonment on the cross shows how one of the worst experiences anyone can have, especially in some of life's worst moments, is to feel that no one--even God--cares about what happens to them.

Early in my marriage I had the horrible habit of becoming extremely drowsy whenever my wife wanted to deal with a difficult issue. It was a highly inappropriate psychological coping mechanism, and I had the hardest time overcoming it.

To me, the whole point of being a Christian is so that I will never have to stand on the side of Jesus' torturers. If I am true to my faith, then such depravity and inhumanity will be impossible for me.

There are certain human gestures that communicate far more than words can say. Here are just a few, including the ultimate gesture of Jesus on the night before he died, as recalled in today's gospel.

We stand at the beginning of our celebration of the Passion of our Lord. We have followed him through Lent, and now we turn to him and ask him to show mercy on his people.

I gave my back to those who beat me . . . my face I did not shield . . . . The lectionary selects a passage from Isaiah's third Suffering Servant song in order to illustrate how Jesus was also a suffering servant of God.

The one who seeks not the cross of Christ seeks not the glory of Christ.