Palm Sunday recalls the triumphant entry of Jesus of Nazareth into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. It was a normal visit of Jesus and his apostles to the great celebration of Passover.
However, others presented it as a triumphant arrival of the Messiah who would restore the kingship of David and who would deliver the Jewish people from their oppressors.
Jesus of Nazareth never claimed to be the Messiah and told his disciples not to call him that, but others did.
It was the start of an incredible week of human, personal, and political drama that was to change the world and bring the great challenge of Jesus to all people.
He has and continues to challenge people every day to accept or reject him and the great spiritual and human values he taught. He inspired and aroused faith in people.
That FAITH is to believe that goodness and justice will overcome evil, and for believers to do good and oppose evil. Many may remain indifferent and frozen in apathy but they cannot ignore the influence of this man in the history of humankind.
The challenge that Jesus of Nazareth gave to the whole world was for each individual to participate in a spiritual revolution together in solidarity to change the world from bad to good. His disciples at the time did not understand it.
Jesus, in fact, claimed no title at all. Naming Jesus as the Messiah came after the feeding of five thousand people in the desert (John 6:14-15) by inspiring the people to share their food with those that had none was an indication of the powerful influence that Jesus had among the people.
The more politicized followers of Jesus saw that social experience of food sharing as a chance to use Jesus and make him part of their political agenda to proclaim Jesus Messiah and king. He could not prevent them from using his popularity for their own ends with which he did not agree.
In John Chapter 6 verses 14 -15, we can read what happened. “Seeing this miracle that Jesus had performed, the people there said: “Surely this is the prophet who was to come into the world. Jesus knew that they could come and seize him by force in order to make him king, so he went off again to the hills by himself.”
Jesus arrived in the capital resisting the efforts to make him “king” or messiah. Yet political forces were at work to try and make him king. The radicals like the Zealots hoped he would lead a revolution and overthrow the occupation of the Romans. (It did happen 66 years later.)
For others, the Messiah was a spiritual leader who would replace the dictatorship of the high priest Caiphas and his cronies who colluded with the oppressive Romans in ruling Palestine and Jesus would restore the kingship of David whom Jesus was a descendant.
Some of his apostles believed he would be given power and glory to rule in Jerusalem. Two of the apostles, James and John, begged to be appointed as ministers, one on his right and one on his left no less (Mark 10:35-45).
They had completely misunderstood Jesus and his mission. They thought it would be a political kingdom of this world while Jesus was teaching a spiritual revolution of the heart and mind where all would be servants to the poor and each other.
This misunderstanding had serious repercussions. The word was likely passed around the city that Jesus would be installed as king. Judas likely spread the rumor among the advisors to the High Priest.
The High Priest, the elders, the Sanhedrin, and the Pharisees, were all bitter enemies of Jesus since he challenged their hypocrisy and disturbed their corrupt practices of using the Temple courtyard as a trading place for their money-making businesses. The news spread that Jesus would be made king. They decided he had to be rid of.
They judged and condemned him as a subversive seeking power. They used their decision to bring the accusation and Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. He asked Jesus, “Are you King of the Jews”? Jesus answered him, “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?” In the end that was the charge that led to his execution and death.
The disciples’ dreams fell apart, all felt great guilt afterward. Judas committed suicide. Later, they had revelations and a deeper understanding that what Jesus established and aroused in their hearts and minds was an ideal, a conviction that they could win people to the side of goodness and truth and persuade them to embrace a spiritual kingdom based on faith and action, a society where respect for the dignity of everyone is present, a society built on rights, equality, justice and love of neighbor.
Jesus was an extraordinary human being. If we want to know God, we should get to know Jesus of Nazareth. He was the son of a carpenter but born a highly intelligent human, even a genius.
His life was threatened from the day he was born. His loving parents protected him. They became a refugee family that migrated to Egypt. He escaped a childhood massacre like what is happening in Palestine today.
He grew to be a man of deep insight, understanding, and honesty, and his integrity was unassailable. He was totally self-confident, empowered, independent, self-assured, and dependent on no one. He had deep solidarity with the poor and the exploited, the hungry and the unemployed.
He gave children the highest place in his spiritual kingdom and in this world and gave the highest respect and dignity to women. He gave severe penance to child abusers and forgave the repentant.
He challenged authority, was fearless, unafraid, and sought no honor or prestige. He served others as a humble servant and washed the feet of his disciples cooked their food and served them at the table. He called them friends not servants and taught them all he knew with wisdom, support, and friendship.
In the end, they never understood him and one betrayed him and the others ran away when he was arrested. He made friends with the outcasts and sex workers. He challenged the rich to repent and share their wealth. Above all, he was a man of great compassion and empathy. He was falsely accused and condemned to death and executed a totally innocent man.
Irish Father Shay Cullen, SSC, established the Preda Foundation in Olongapo City in 1974 to promote human rights and the rights of children, especially victims of sex abuse. The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of LiCAS.news.
