Palmarum
John 12:1-43
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus, His mother, and His disciples had been invited to a wedding. It was a great party, so much so that before it ended, the reception had run out of wine. Mary approaches Jesus. She knows who He is and what He is capable of. "They have no wine." Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." (John 2:3b-4)
Later, Jesus was teaching a large crowd, and the day was fading. They were getting hungry and there was no food, nor time to get food. However, there was a boy present who had a few fish and loaves of bread. From this, Jesus feeds the crowd. From there, Jesus walks around Galilee; He did not want to walk in Judea, though, because the Jews wanted to kill Him. It was about the time of the Feast of Booths, so His brothers in Galilee, who did not yet believe in Him, told Him to go to Judea for the Feast: "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." But Jesus told them, "My time has not yet come..." (John 7:3-4, 6)
Though He stayed in Galilee for a little while, once His brothers went, He also went to festival, but secretly. The Jews were looking for Him in the crowd, but they could not find Him. Once the festival was halfway over, Jesus went to the temple and started teaching. His words surprised some and angered others. Some claimed He had a demon in retort to His question, "Why do you seek to kill Me?" After some more teaching, "they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come." (cf. John 7:11-30)
Later again, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery. "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" they asked Him. He answers by writing something in the sand, as though He had not heard them. They ask again; Jesus stands up. "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." After stooping down again, the crowd begins to disperse, "beginning with the oldest even to the last." Seeing no one left to accuse the woman, Jesus dismissed her: "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." After finding the scribes and Pharisees, he teaches them again, further enraging them. Yet, "as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come." (cf. John 8:1-20)