Sunday 10/4/2022 Year C, Lk 22, 14-23, 56
We are today on the Palm’s Sunday, the beginning of the Holy Week. As Jesus said “ the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly I say to you unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” Jn 12,23. It is the time of truth in which people have been tested, we have been tested. The time to see whether we follow our way, or the way of God, the way of the Cross.
We have heard this Sunday Gospel. Jesus entered Jerusalem as a messianic king, humble, peaceful. People welcomed him as King, reminding us of King David when he entered and took possession of Jerusalem. And later on, We have heard a chaotic scene in the passion of the Lord. One of his disciples betrayed him for some money, another one denied knowing him, others ran away due to fear; Pilate condemned him, and the Pharisees and scribes wanted his death because his presence threatened their power… The crowd turns their shouts from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him”. He was everything to them as a King, but he disappointed their expectation for a revolution, and their adoration turn to hate.
We may see ourselves in one of these people.
A priest told us, in our Lent retreat, about his experience during the Holy Week in Jerusalem. They made the Way of the cross by carrying the cross on the street. People looked at them, but most of them did not care what happened, still doing their business. That was normal. He said that it would be the same situation when Jesus carried his cross on the street of Jerusalem. People looked at him as one more criminal on the street.
Who we are in these people and what do we care about?
So we can ask ourselves. What in reality do I care about, where do I invest my time, talent, energy, emotion…that in reality is what I worship, and what or who is my God. It is my job? or my reputation; or what people are saying about me, or what I have, the power I use, or my possession. While Jesus was still speaking to the disciples, they were already arguing and debating as to which of them was the greatest.
However, Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness are certainly shown throughout Jesus’ life, but more evidently upon His passion and crucifixion. He knew that Peter would betray him but he forgave him and chose him as the first Apostle. The gentleness of Jesus was also shown in the way that he heals the ear of one of the people who come to arrest him. He showed his mercy for the women of Jerusalem. His mercy was further presented by forgiving the good thief and welcoming him into the Kingdom. He even prayed for those who crucified him and mocked him “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing” Lk 23,34.
He knows our weaknesses, our desires, our sins. That’s why he comes and shows his love and mercy to lift us from our wounds and sins as the first and the second readings tell us. He will heal us and help us to carry out our cross to follow him.
Holy week invites each of us to journey with Christ in the events of the Passion so that after the Calvary we may come to live in the hope of resurrection. Only when we recognize his love for us, we will become follow faithful rather than fickle followers.
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