Palm Sunday takes us back to that day Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the
king’s animal. There was large crowd in Jerusalem for the feast of passover; the crowd
erupted into jubilation, singing Hosanna, welcoming Jesus as the Messiah. There were
those who question: who is this? Religious and political leaders were not happy; they
plot to get rid of him; we see another crowd shouting: crucify him!. After a brief time of
amazement of Jesus entering Jerusalem, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the passion
of Christ, the great descent of Christ, the self-emptying of Son of God. He who became
like us let himself be humiliated; cruel hands beat him, abused him. Because he loved
us, he descended into the depth of fear and desolation, crying out: my God, why have
you abandoned me! This time of great tribulation as we battle coronavirus, we cry out:
God, why have you abandoned us? We feel defeated, crushed and hopes shattered as
we learn about thousands being infected and many dying each day. In answer to our
cry, God moves our gaze toward Jesus on the cross. Descent of Christ into the sin and
sickness of the world, his cross, manifests the power of love, the way of ascending,
triumph of love and life on Easter day.
Jesus’ death on the cross reveals who God is! In the silence of the cross, God says: I
love you. Our children have a natural way of lovingly embracing Jesus crucified, though
they don’t understand why? They know it is all about love. We did the same when we
were children! Suffering of Christ on the cross is God going out of himself to share
divine life with us; cross changes, transforms everything; the cross of corona virus is
transforming the world, leading us people of faith to stand firm on grace! Those who
consider cross as a scandal question: where is your God? Jesus did not use his
suffering a weapon of vengeance to question the absurdity of suffering but mercy,
forgiveness, understanding flowed from the cross. His suffering love empowers us in
this time of distress. Jesus invites us to stand beneath his cross, take his mother Mary
with us for her motherly comfort and care the world needs now!
Passion of Christ brings to light our life-story of betrayal, fear, denial and what is dying
in us, our frustrations, impatience, our sin just as how Peter, Judas and other disciples
felt. Jesus took upon himself all these our self-diminishing experiences on the cross
that we may experience Easter of a new beginning, life with Jesus who is living water,
light and life. In our suffering, we are close to the suffering Christ!