What
a contrast between the joyful reception of Jesus upon his arrival in Jerusalem
and the cruel rejection and agonizing death he will soon endure. When Jesus first arrives in Jerusalem, his
disciples are overjoyed. They praise God
for all the mighty deeds they had seen—the same disciples who will soon desert
Jesus and pretend they never knew him. For
now, however, the disciples celebrate Jesus as a true king with no idea of what
fate shall soon be theirs: “Blessed is
the king who comes in the name of the Lord” is the praise they shout as they spread
their cloaks on the road before him. Who
would believe that soon many of them will call for his death in exchange for
the release of a murderer? Even God it
seems will abandon Jesus in his darkest hour.
How else to explain the words Jesus moans on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
For
us today, kings are little more than a social curiosity with celebrity status.
Royalty is simply out of place in our American culture and way of life. We
value independence, self reliance and democracy far too much than to allow a
serious role for a king in our society. For
this reason, Palm Sunday serves as a reminder that Jesus Christ is the true
King of heaven and earth. The challenge
for us is how to acknowledge and honor Jesus as the king of our lives.
Through
his life and mission, Jesus shows us what HE means by king, and how we can participate
in the kingdom of God. The paradigm that
Jesus offers as a guide is the very opposite of an ordinary understanding of
royalty. That paradigm begins with his birth into poverty rather than
wealth. His birthplace was a stable for
animals rather than a castle for monarchs.
As
an adult, he lives as a hermit for forty days in a desert, visits a social
outcast named John to get baptized, travels the countryside as a homeless
person, eats with tax collectors and sinners, enlists the aid of women, and
preaches the good news of salvation. Indeed,
a woman anoints his feet with tears and oil, rather than his head as the high
priest would anoint a king of this world.
In
fact, Jesus promotes a kingdom not of this world, where membership is freely
granted to faithful servants, not earned by loyal subjects, and where love, not
power and wealth, rules supreme. Many of
those who listen do not understand nor do they accept his message that love of
God and love of neighbor go hand in hand.
Serving others as the way to love God is not in their vocabulary.
And
yet, this is the message that Jesus delivers over and over. He informs his followers that the Son of Man
came to serve, not to be served. He
tells them that they must not lord it over others. That the greatest among them must be the
least, the one who washes the feet of the others.
Jesus
demonstrates through word and deed what being a king means and what
participation in the kingdom of God entails.
He heals the sick; he cares for the poor, the vulnerable, the
marginalized; he challenges injustice; he insists that mercy and compassion
overrule custom and ritual; he sums up the entire Mosaic Law with the dual
command to love God and to love neighbor as self.
Jesus
is no one’s fool, however. He warns his
disciples that following in his footsteps is risky. He makes it clear that those who challenge
injustice and go against the grain to oppose greed and extravagant accumulation
can expect the same fate that he will soon endure. The only assistance Jesus offers is a sure
promise to send his Spirit to guide the way and provide the necessary
defense. At first, the disciples don’t
understand what fate he has in mind. But
before long, they witness firsthand what awaits their beloved teacher, only to
catch a glimpse of their own futures—and they run.
Only
after his humiliating death of sacrifice is Jesus able to claim his throne of
love. Only then does Jesus come into his
kingdom to rule the hearts of those who follow him in the way of love. We celebrate the entrance of our great King with
full awareness of what participation in his kingdom really means. Following Christ means picking up the cross
of self denial, rather than a royal scepter of power and wealth. It means having an active regard for others and
ourselves out of love for God. It means seeking
what has everlasting value. It means
choosing substance over appearance. As
St. Paul reminds us, following Jesus means living a life worthy of the gift and
calling we have received—living in peace and unity, with patience and humility,
bearing with one another through love—living in the Spirit of Christ our King
(Eph 4:1-6; cf. 2 Pt 1:10-11).
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