Today is the Fifth Sunday in Lent. It used to be called Passion Sunday in the liturgical calendar when I was a young pastor, which I admit seemed odd to me as it came before Palm Sunday and Holy Week. I guess I wasn't the only one who wondered as it suddenly disappeared from "official" calendars. I don't remember which year it was, so now it's the fifth Sunday in Lent. Next week, is the combination of Palms and Passion or your choice of emphasis. So it's possible to go from a Parade to a Resurrection without passion or pain or suffering. We make it so easy and nice.

Sounds like a "success" motif. It just happens to the lucky, or the privileged, or the connected. How disappointing.

There is a heart to passion, of giving one's all, of commitment to a greater cause, surrendering self for the benefit of others.

Sometimes it even appears to be defeat and death. Passion promises more. Hope. Life.