PALM SUNDAY

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is approaching. The day the Messiah triumphantly rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the day the masses waved palm branches to usher him in, the day the city rejoiced at his coming. “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” they cried. The last time such infectious rejoicing was recorded was when the angels heralded Jesus’s birth. “Glory to God in the highest!” It was the beginning of something new. And indeed, this was something very new.

One of the first things Jesus did when he arrived in Jerusalem was to overturn the tables in the temple, to refocus the people on the true meaning of worship: an earnest communion with God that transcends circumstances. Jesus could count with his fingers the number of days until his crucifixion, the ultimate expression of love and worship, and he saw a deep need for the people to re-center themselves on God.

A monumental shift was imminent; an unprecedented transformation was about to completely redefine how God would relate to God’s people. God, Jesus, our high priest-king in the order of Melchizedek would lay himself down on the altar instead of our sacrifices. This single act upended the entire Jewish religious system: no more sacrifices, no more high priests, no more mediation between humans and God. Jesus knew exactly what his death and resurrection would entail, and he recognized that if the people weren’t truly communing with God, they wouldn’t have a clue of what had just happened.

Life is unpredictable, and it’s easy for me to forget that in my everyday routine. Not if, but when the next big change broadsides me, will I suddenly realize I’ve drifted from the Center, or will my worship anchor me to the sovereign God?

- Monca Miller,

Goshen College

The waving of palm branches and the cries of "Hosanna to the King!" usher in the holiest week of the year. The full drama begins with the crowd's fickle acclaim of Jesus as King for a day. It is a foreshadowing of the blasphemous mockery the soldiers will hurl at our thorn-crowned Savior a few days later. And yet, for a few hours we can raise our voices joyfully with the multitude, linking the honor given by the crowd, especially by the children, with His ultimate victory beyond the grave. We wonder and rejoice as the veil is raised to permit a glimpse of Jesus, the Messiah and liberator. But then, as the Palm Sunday Mass proceeds, the horrors of the Passion are proclaimed, and we are left wondering what we would have done, when we hear: "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

How could have events accelerated at such a dizzying pace between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday? The forces of darkness were never more vicious in their attempt to destroy the Mission of Jesus on this earth. That the religious leaders of the day were made instruments of evil is a tragic lesson to all religions, even to the present day. That these leaders scandalized their own people, making them agents of falsehood, is another warning to those of unwary and careless piety. How easily the righteous can be persuaded by the lies of their leaders that a certain action is not at all evil, but actually good and admirable. We wonder how many of those whom Jesus healed in His journeys were among the crowds crying out against Him just a few days later!

The Passion narrative is the most powerful story ever written about the sacrifice of the innocent to evil, and the blind consent of crowds to the will of those in power. In this year's narrative according to St. Luke, the Roman Procurator three times declared the innocence of Jesus, and so did Herod Antipas, the Jewish tetrarch of Galilee. Yet, fear of political expediency prevailed. Only the "good" thief, who defended the truth of Jesus' innocence and honestly admits his own guilt, is rewarded with heaven that day.

In this Year of Mercy, how ironic it is that no mercy of any kind was shown to Jesus by either the Roman authorities, the Jewish religious leaders, or the crowds. The outstanding example of courage and kindness, however, came from Veronica who wiped the face of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa. We wonder how many people may have been converted by the powerful image on the cloth which she must have proudly treasured that day. And did Simon gradually help Jesus willingly with the Cross?

The whole purpose of God the Father and His divine Son in allowing the brutality and agony of the ordeal was to show the greatest mercy to all of us, sons and daughters of Adam. He continues to show endless mercy to us in our fickle and weak responses throughout the ages even to the present time.

This Holy Week is another opportunity for us to become fervent messengers of God's love and mercy in a world that still has time. By embracing the Cross of Jesus in patience and gratitude, may we find hope and newness of life.