Joy and Sorrow. Excitement and Numbing Frustration. Praises and Lamentations.
Holy Week, and Palm Sunday in particular, is filled with many contrasting emotions.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is met with such exuberance. Riding on a donkey like King David entering the Holy City, they thought him to be the royal Messiah who would once and for all bring victory over the enemies of Israel. The itinerant preacher, the miracle working son of the carpenter is greeted like a prize fighter, a military hero, a conquering king.
But then Hosannas are replaced with calls for his crucifixion.
Why? What happened? How were shouts of joy transformed into demands for death?
God’s love happened! But God's love was quite different from how it was expected, as it often is!
The Jews expected the Messiah to bring about their deliverance by the sword. But Jesus came not simply to bring political advancement for a particular people, but for the salvation of all people, of all nations, of all times.
Hosanna’s turned to calls for crucifixion when Jesus revealed that he was not the hero fallen humanity wanted, he was the hero fallen humanity needed. He is the bitter medicine we refuse to take, the uncomfortable truth we need to humble ourselves in order to believe.
The liturgy of Palm Sunday, “teaches us that the Lord has not saved us by his triumphal entry or by means of powerful miracles (Pope Francis).” Salvation comes at a price, and that price is the cross.
To quote William Penn: No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.
Salvation is found not in crushing one’s enemies through military might, but by the power of forgiveness and self-emptying on a cross. Salvation comes not from one more politician promising utopia or the military conquest of a warlord; it comes from self-emptying, from humility, from the mercy of God.
A few years ago Pope Francis explains how Jesus conquers through the cross, and we too must follow him in embracing the cross. Francis says, “God’s way of acting may seem so far removed from our own, that he was annihilated for our sake, while it seems difficult for us to even forget ourselves a little. He comes to save us; we are called to choose his way: the way of service, of giving, of forgetfulness of ourselves. Let us walk this path, pausing in these days to gaze upon the Crucifix; it is the “royal seat of God”. to learn about the humble love which saves and gives life, so that we may give up all selfishness, and the seeking of power and fame. By humbling himself, Jesus invites us to walk on his path. Let us turn our faces to him, let us ask for the grace to understand at least something of the mystery of his obliteration for our sake; and then, in silence, let us contemplate the mystery of this Week” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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