With the celebration of today, we begin that most important week in the Church and in the entire Universe. It is most important because it is the week God chose to bring about our salvation through his suffering, death and resurrection. Today being Palm Sunday is bittersweet because even though we rejoice at the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem and shout hosanna, we know that that Friday which is good amongst all Fridays is coming. But the question is, should we really be sad about that Friday? The Friday is sad but good.

Our gospel reading/passion narrative is a very dramatic one filled with meaning. Jesus had set out on his journey to Jerusalem which he foretold in Matthew 16:21. If we remember very well, it was during Jesus' journey today that he healed the blind man Bartimaeus in Mark 10:47 because Matthew 20:29 and Mark 10:46 tells us that as he was leaving Jericho  there were already a great multitude following him. Bartimaeus having discovered that Jesus was among the pilgrims started to cry out “Jesus son of David, have mercy on me” even when people tried to calm him down he shouted the more until Jesus came to his aid and Mark 10:48-52 tells us that he followed Jesus to Jerusalem. Now this healing made other pilgrims begin to wonder whether it was possible that this Jesus whom they were walking with is actually the Messiah whom they have been waiting for.

In fact as if the healing was not enough, when Jesus got to the mount of Olives in Mark 11 the place where the Messiah is expected to enter from, he sends two of his disciples ahead of him to get someone’s donkey which no one has used and if anyone asks them question they are to reply that “the master is in need of it” and so Jesus rode on a new but borrowed donkey.

For us this may be ordinary and one of those things, after all someone can borrow another’s car and use it. But for the Jews and Jesus’ fellow pilgrims, it is not an ordinary action. For the Jews, the use of a donkey which no one has used is left only to kings. For instance Zechariah 9:9 which was quoted by Mathew and John says “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey and on a colt…”. Now, not only that Jesus rode on a new donkey but it was also a fact that when this donkey was brought, Jesus did something that was unexpected to the people. When the donkey was brought to Jesus by the disciples, they laid their garments on it and Mathew 21:7 says “and Jesus sat on it” although Luke 19:35 said that “they sat Jesus on it”. This action as well is attributed to kings as seen in 1 Kings 1:33-34 when king David commanded Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Banaiah saying “take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel''. And also the spreading out of cloth/garment as the disciples did was also associated to the kingship of the people of Israel as we have in 2 Kings 9:13 when Jehu became king “at once all the commanders, the companions of Jehu, took their cloaks and put them under Jehu on the bare steps. Then with a blast of trumpets, they proclaimed, ``Jehu is king”.

And so when the other pilgrims with Jesus saw what the disciples were doing, in their enthusiasm and wonder they had no choice but to spread their garments on the streets while some plucked tree branches and started shouting psalm 118:26 Hassana, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord…”

The question now is, how come just a few days these people shouted hosanna, crucify him followed; few days they sang behind Jesus, they chose Barabbas, a notorious armed robber against Jesus. The Jews never expected that Jesus whom they knew so much was God. In fact, they expected a kind of king like David who would always lead them to wars. Hence when Jesus, an ordinary Son of a Carpenter came and told them he was and is God they had no choice but to persecute and kill him.

But something so interesting is how Jesus accepted his death in the hands of his own people. He knew very well he was going to Jerusalem to die but he still made the journey; he embraced the cross; he did not run away because he knew that his suffering is the beginning of a new life for us. How then do we embrace the little-little crosses that come to us daily? Most times what we do is to complain.

Remember, Jesus’ death was not the end and his suffering was not the end but the beginning of a new life for us. Your suffering is not the end but the beginning of a new thing God wants to bring about in your life but you have to accept it first. Hence he tells us in Matthew 16:24 to take up our cross and follow him if we must be his disciples. God had the power to save us without suffering, but he did not, probably because he wanted to show us that there is a great thing behind our sufferings.  May our sufferings not lead us to condemnation but to a greater glory.

HAPPY PALM SUNDAY AND GOD BLESS YOU.