People of Faith
As we reach the sixth and final Sunday of Lent our own Lenten journey closely follows that of Jesus as he prepares us for the great liturgies of the Easter Tridium. Palm Sunday is a dress rehearsal taking us from the exaltation and excitement of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the donkey, to the upper room and the marking of the Passover with his friends, then on to Gethsemane and the long trek to Calvary.
We can recognise the enthusiasm and joy of the crowds that line Jesus’s journey into Jerusalem. People wave palms and shout their encouragement and excitement as they see their prophet. They show hope for a future that they fervently wish to be very different from their past. How quickly this excitement and hope disappear as a few days later the people change their cries of ‘Hosanna’ to ‘Crucify him’.
Where would we have stood as the procession entered Jerusalem? Would we have been crying ‘Hosanna’ following this man on a humble donkey? Jesus was someone who looked nothing like the Jews expectation of a king and leader. Shouldn’t he have been on a great horse, not a donkey. Did he look like someone who could save them from persecution? Would we have seen him as a prophet and king or as someone on the peripheries of society to be ignored and treated as a joke?
Where will we be by the end of the week, with Jesus arrested and the authorities taking control of his crucifixion. Will we have the courage to stand up for Jesus in the face of Pontius Pilate? Or are we like Peter, too scared to declare our faith and instead deny him when confronted.
Do not despair for our God is one of mercy. The glory of the Resurrection is that through the death of Jesus our weaknesses and frailties, our propensity to be fair weather supporters of Jesus is washed away and we have the opportunity to grow to be stronger people of faith.
May this Easter bring each one of us to a deeper faith in the Risen Christ.
God Bless, Jane Kelly
