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[The Lord GOD has given me

   a well-trained tongue,

That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.

Morning after morning

   he opens my ear that I may hear;

and I have not rebelled,

   have not turned back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

   my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield

   from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,

   therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,

   knowing that I shall not be put to shame.] (Is. 50:4-7)

With Holy Week underway we begin our journey with Jesus in the city of Jerusalem amidst the jubilation of the crowds waving palm beaches.  The first reading today expresses Jesus’s determination to accomplish God’s will, our salvation.  Jesus knows His entrance into Jerusalem means certain death, but He also knows

Therefore l, Jesus has made up His mind.  He will not back down or turn back.

Jesus is prepared to and now begins to prove His love for each one of us as He nears the cross.  Jesus was born to die so that we might live.

How do I live my life?  Do I live my life so as to die that others may live—my spouse, my children, my coworkers, my friends, my enemies, etc.?