A week before Easter, a "man" enters Jerusalem , the whole city is in an uproar, people welcome his arrival with palm branches. But did he understand the real purpose of the crowd's arrival? No. Even his disciples were terrified and ran away when Jesus was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The people did not know at all who was entering Jerusalem. They cherished completely different ideas about the Messiah than what resulted in Holy Week. They expected earthly riches from him, even though Jesus lived his entire life in poverty. This king did not enter Jerusalem in a shiny carriage, but gently, on the back of a goat, in the greatest possible simplicity.
The crowd, who saw the miracle of the multiplication of bread, hoped that Jesus would free them from all earthly hopelessness and dependence. However, Jesus answered them in the synagogue of Capernaum: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye sought me, but not because ye saw miracles, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled." "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
On Palm Sunday, the love that wants to save us marched into Jerusalem. And what did Jerusalem give him? The one who wanted to satisfy every thirsty person with the water of life had a sponge soaked in vinegar pressed to his mouth when he was thirsty. The one to whom all knees will one day bow, when he returns in his heavenly glory, had a crown of thorns pressed into his forehead, spit on, humiliated and scourged. Perhaps even today it is difficult to understand why all this could happen to the King of Heaven and Earth. Because His kingdom is not of this world. And because "Though he was rich, he became poor for our sakes, so that through his poverty we might become rich."
We often tend to view God's kingdom like a small child who only expects the gifts of his parents, but understands nothing of the love that protects him and wants to save his life. But our Jesus said: "Do not worry and do not ask: What do we eat, what do we drink? These are what the pagans are looking for. Your Heavenly Father knows you need them. Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and you will receive all these things!"
Today we may not have sanctified vessels, we walk through the passion procession in our souls and watch the Masses online. This epidemic is also a kind of message: the consumer society, the competition, the overwhelming selfishness and greed are destroying the true gift of Jesus, love and respect for each other, solidarity, the food of the Son of Man. Now we realize that we have to take care of each other, wearing a mask is also for the other person, so that we don't get sick, get vaccinated, because all of this also serves the survival of the bare lives of our fellow human beings. The story of suffering that the whole world is going through now makes us humbler and more understanding of the problems and troubles of our fellow human beings. Let's help each other selflessly, recognizing the superhuman work of doctors, nurses, paramedics, soldiers, medics and others.
Let's not panic and run away. After all, despite our differences, we are all part of Jesus' resurrected body of light!
